Her Sweetest Revenge
by Riquisel Yutifae
Summary: Tifa is asked by AVALANCHE to apply for a position in Neo-ShinRa as part of their revenge. Little do they know that ShinRa also has plans of their own against AVALANCHE. Please Read & Review.
1. First

Her Sweetest Revenge

By: Riquisel Yutifae

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Squaresoft… now known as SquareEnix, I guess. =_=

========================================== 

=First=

            Everyone's been talking about the new "empire" in Midgar that ShinRa had established ever since it returned. Now you might be asking, how did it return?

Their leader is alive.

It was amazing how he remained unconscious under a pile of rubble for several days without any food or water… and still managed to wake up… and upon waking up, he realized that everything had been destroyed by Meteor. He staggered going to the nearest town to Midgar to seek help upon realizing how wounded he was.

The people in Kalm were devastated to see him bleeding and burned… 

But what surprised them was that…

He seemed somewhat nice.

"Please… help me…" were his words to them. Mind the _please._

They immediately took him to their local hospital and when the doctors checked on him, they had expected third degree burns and more deep wounds… but the only found second degree burns and lesser wounds.

Again, he was unconscious for a few more days… and the next time he had awoken, his remaining employees and Turks had returned to his side, guarding him faithfully.

To their awe, he even smiled kindly at them, "H…hello, everyone. How's work today?"

They did not really know how to answer the question.

And he just closed his eyes again and fell asleep.

Obviously, word had spread out all over the Planet that ShinRa is back…

"ShinRa is large and in charge… yet again." Barret switched off the TV and leaned back on the sofa.

They were silent.

"Well, ya foo's. Looks like we oughtta get our asses workin' to stop those damn ShinRa people in rebuildin' those Mako Reactors." He remarked.

Silence again.

Barret became impatient as he stared at the blank faces of everyone inside the room. "Well, ain't anybody among ya foo's gonna say sumthin'?" he demanded.

The spiky-haired blonde with blue eyes who was seated in one corner of the room was the first one who spoke up, "Is that the reason why you bothered to gather us back here in Neo-Midgar?"

"Yer darn right, foo'." Barret replied with a proud smile on his face.

Cloud Strife, Vincent Valentine, Tifa Lockheart, Cid Highwind, Yuffie Kisaragi and Red XIII exchanged rather blank stares with one another.

Red XIII yawned before lying down on the floor beside Cloud. "Let us be reasonable, fellows. There aren't any signs that ShinRa is beginning to do malicious things again to our Planet." He stated.

"Wha? Are we gonna wait for sumthin' bad ta happen before we do sumthin' 'bout it? I'd say we thrash 'em right here and now, ya foo's!" Barret protested.

"What are we gonna do, try to infiltrate ShinRa again?" Tifa asked as she crossed her arms.

"That's one of our options, but we could do other things besides that." Barret said.

"What do you have in mind?" Cloud asked him.

"We send one of us there as a worker." Barret replied.

Silence filled the whole room all of a sudden.

"It's not easy applying for ShinRa." Vincent reminded them.

"Yeah. @#$% ShinRa is @#$%^%$ meticulous when it comes to hiring @#$%^% employees!" Cid said.

"Oh not to worry though. I have plans that ShinRa cannot comprehend, I'm sure!" Barret told them reassuringly.

They all fell silent.

"This doesn't involve using any of us here, I hope, because if it does and it's gonna be me, I'll just get out of here!" Yuffie snapped with a bratty tone.

"Don't worry, Yuffie, it ain't you." Barret told her before turning to Vincent, Cid and Tifa.

Tifa immediately got up from her seat and walked out of the room, but Cloud got up and stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "Hey, what's the rush, Teef?" he asked.

"Let me go, Cloud. I'm going back to Nibelheim." She snapped impatiently.

"Whoa, did anything bad happen to the two of you? I thought you guys were already boyfriend-girlfriend?" Yuffie asked in surprise.

Tifa pushed Cloud away from herself. "No, we're not, Yuffie." She told her sternly.

"Tifa, c'mon. Do this for all of us! ShinRa ruined our life once before, are we going to let it ruin our lives again?" Cloud asked, ignoring Yuffie's ridiculous question.

Tifa was just silent. For one thing, she is afraid of confronting ShinRa because she had known of the danger before, but then a big part of her would like to surrender to Barret's idea. "Chill out, Tifa, ShinRa's the reason why your dad died, why Aerith died and why there was a Sephiroth who almost got you killed! With Barret's plan, you can finally avenge Aerith's and your dad's death! Think about it! ShinRa's the main reason for starting the JENOVA project, therefore creating a Sephiroth which led to several other problems. C'mon, this is your chance!" her conscience was scolding her as she clenched her fists and trying to avoid the looks on everyone's faces. She listened carefully to what Barret was telling Vincent and Cid after a few moments of pondering what to do with her own life. 

"I've worked before under the @#$%^%$ Space Development Division but I don't wanna go back to that @#$%^%$ company ever again! I'm happy with my @#$%^%$ life in Rocket Town in my @#$%^%$ house there! Feh!" Cid snapped with a rather irritated tone as he lit up a cigarette and began to smoke mindlessly.

"I've worked as a Turk there before, but I don't know if I'll look convincing enough for the ShinRa right now…" Vincent told them while looking at his left claw.

Everyone turned back to Tifa.

She just placed her hands behind her back and bowed down her head with a blank stare on her face. "This is it… revenge… my sweetest revenge…" she thought silently…

            Rufus remained seated on his office chair as he stared blankly at the monitor. It was another lazy day at work for him… though he knows that work has been a necessary evil for him ever since he learned how to speak as a toddler.

He was just waiting for a report from the Turks whom he had sent out to a lake somewhat far from Midgar.

"In a little while… in a little while…" he thought silently.

The Turks had been away for almost a week already and he figured that he would not be going back to normal operations of the company unless they return with their mission accomplished.

Rufus looked up at the ceiling as if hoping to hear a voice. "Are you still there?" he whispered softly.

No answer.

He sighed frustratingly before turning his gaze to the person who was approaching him. He smiled slightly as if to express his pleasantness upon seeing that person finally arrive after almost a week. "Elena," he said before standing up.

Elena had this pleased look on her face and her eyes revealed too much excitement. "President Rufus! We're back!" she said happily.

"Yeah, I can see that," he said plainly. "So, did you…" he began, but she cut him off by replying anyway, "Oh, yes! Yes, President Rufus! Yes! We found her! She's alive just like what you said!" she was jumping up and down with joy.

He had a stiff look on his face but he unconsciously looked up at the ceiling again and thought, "Thank goodness… so it's true…"

He turned back to Elena. "Where did you put her?" he asked.

"In the room which you had reserved for her. She needs to rest." Elena replied.

Rufus nodded his head. "Good. What about the others?" he asked.

Elena thought for a while before replying, "Oh, you said that they'd be there too! They were also there but comparing their situation to hers, they're much lively." 

"Lively?" he asked, blinking in awe.

She suddenly looked disappointed. "She's unconscious when we found her, but he assured that with enough rest, she can regain her original strength that she had in her first life and then finally, she can go home." She explained with a sad smile on her face, sympathizing for the unconscious girl.

"How long will it take her to get well?" he asked.

"We're not sure… but anyway, Miss Lucrecia explained that she'll be taking care of her." She replied cheerfully.

They were interrupted when a tall silver-haired man with green eyes entered. "Rufus," he began.

Rufus smiled calmly at him. "Hey, Sephiroth. It's been a while," he said as he approached him and then shook hands with him before giving each other a friendly hug.

"So, heard you're looking for new employees here in ShinRa," Sephiroth began before letting go of Rufus.

"Er… don't mind me asking, sir, but since when did you get acquainted?" Elena asked, interrupting the two.

"We met in the Lifestream." Rufus replied, though for Elena it sounded absurd.

She just nodded. "I see…" she said simply.

"Are there any applicants yet?" Rufus asked her.

"Y…yes, sir. Only a few. Shall I let them in here, sir?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll interview them myself." Rufus replied before she finally left.

"Where's Lucrecia?" Rufus asked.

"Mom's in the laboratory renaming the specimens and then getting rid of the old ones. Ever since you assigned her to be the new Science Department Head, she wouldn't stop working until she gets the whole laboratory cleaned." Sephiroth replied.

"And you, what do you want to be?" Rufus asked.

"I'm not really sure if I'm still in top shape." Sephiroth replied.

"Aw, c'mon, you still have JENOVA left in you. You're still capable of being my new General instead of Heidegger doing the dirty job." Rufus explained as he patted Sephiroth's shoulder reassuringly.

"What are you going to do with the Gyahaha?" Sephiroth asked.

"Let him stick to being in charge of SOLDIER and the Turks. You're working with me, Seph." Rufus told him.

"Gee… thanks, Rufus. This way, I can also stay with my mom." Sephiroth replied with a pleased look on his face.

Before they could talk about anything else, they were interrupted when they heard footsteps approaching them. They both turned their gazes to the young woman with long braided raven hair and crimson eyes. She was wearing a black long-sleeved turtleneck underneath a maroon blazer, partnered with a maroon below-the-knee skirt with a high slit located at the left side. She was also wearing black stockings and black leather high-heeled boots, and she was carrying a laptop and a folder.

Rufus's mouth literally dropped open at the sight of her and Sephiroth couldn't help but notice it and smile maliciously.

"Hey," Sephiroth nudged Rufus to make him snap out of it.

Rufus jerked slightly as he returned to his senses. He turned away from her and tried to act cool as he headed for his office chair again and sat down.

Sephiroth stepped backward to let the young woman pass. He noticed that she was staring in awe at him, as if telling him, "What are you doing here?"

He frowned slightly at the girl, sensing that he knows her… but he just shrugged it off.

"Good afternoon, President Rufus," she spoke up stiffly before putting down her things. She offered a handshake to Rufus as she smiled sweetly. "I'm Tiffayne. Tiffayne Lockheart." She introduced herself.

Rufus eagerly shook her hand with a blank look on his face. "Nice to meet you, Miss Lockheart." He told her before he motioned for her to take a seat.

She sat down.

"So, Miss Lockheart, what kind of job would you like to have here in my company?" Rufus asked as he crossed his legs and placed his hands on the armrest.

"Well… I just graduated from business school and I took up Business Administration with a major in E-Commerce… and since I still have no experience in the workforce, I would still appreciate it even if you place me among your low-ranking employees." She replied.

"I see…" Rufus turned to Sephiroth. "Don't mind me asking, Sephiroth, but do we still have a vacant position for the job that she's asking for?" he asked.

Sephiroth thought for a while. "I don't think so, President Rufus." He replied.

She swallowed hard. 

Rufus turned his gaze back to the young woman, "However, if you have an experience in fighting or combat, we could use a new member for our Turks… or if you majored in Biology or any of the sciences, you can apply as an assistant to our new Science Department Head… or assistants for the Head of Urban Development or the Weapons Department; take your pick… oh yeah, and a new secretary for the Turks too and also a Marketing Manager." He explained.

She began to think, but before she could speak up, Sephiroth approached her and placed a hand on her right shoulder which made her jerk up. "May I see your resume?" he asked.

She frowned slightly before pulling out a white sheet of paper from the folder and handed it to Sephiroth.

He began to read it carefully before turning to Rufus. "I think she can pass as your Marketing Manager," he told Rufus.

"What?" she asked in disbelief, turning to Sephiroth, then back to Rufus. 

Rufus smiled calmly before nodding his head. "Congratulations, Miss Lockheart. You're my new Marketing Manager." He told her.

"But sir, I didn't major in Marketing and…" she reasoned out.

"If I'm not mistaken, if you take up E-Commerce, you also take up Marketing in one of your majors." Sephiroth pointed out.

Silence.

"Well, I can always instruct you, Miss Lockheart, so don't worry about it," Rufus got up from his seat. "Sephiroth, kindly take her to her office," he said.

Sephiroth nodded with a sly smile on her face.

She got up from her seat and followed after Sephiroth without further a do.

"Shit…" she was thinking.

She was following after Sephiroth.

Tifa frowned as she bowed down her head. "This is so strange… why is Sephiroth here? I thought he's dead? Don't tell me he and Rufus had formed allies?" she thought silently.

"You know, you do look familiar," he pointed out.

She stiffened. "I don't even know you," she pointed out with a snobbish tone.

He just rolled his eyes before he opened a door just near Rufus's office. "To let you know about your Job, it's almost like being Rufus's partner in crime, a.k.a., his Vice-President." He told her.

She just stared up at him unbelievably. "Vice President?" she asked in awe.

"You are very lucky." Sephiroth told her before pushing her inside the room and then he shut the door behind her, leaving her there to ponder on what will happen in the future to come.

She suddenly didn't know what to do. "Gods… why did I even let myself into this kind of situation?!" she thought silently with an angry look before marching over to her desk.

A few minutes later after fixing her things, Rufus arrived in her office.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Oh, hello, President Rufus," she greeted.

"Hello, Tiffayne," he greeted before he closed the door and approached her. He was holding two folders: one containing her contract and the other one containing some documents about ShinRa.

She was reading the contract and it mentioned that if ever something bad happens to Rufus (i.e. sudden death), she is eligible to take over as the new President. 

That made her nervous, but she knew she had to sign it.

After the contract-signing, Rufus handed her the documents about ShinRa. "Your new Marketing plan is due two days from now. Can I count on it?" he asked.

She was silent for a while before shaking her head. "President Rufus, I really can't do this…" she started.

"Oh yeah, I'll teach you first." He told her before he pulled a chair and sat down beside her. 

During the tutorial, they were interrupted when Scarlet just entered without any warning. She instantly raised an eyebrow upon seeing the two together. "Kyah… is there anything that I do not know, President Rufus?" she asked rather haughtily. 

"Meet Tiffayne Lockheart. She's the new Marketing Manager and Vice President of ShinRa." He introduced blankly before turning back to his tutorial.

"Shit… and this bitch is still alive too?" Tifa thought silently before she began to pay attention again to Rufus's lecture.

Scarlet felt rather agitated because they ignored her, so she just stepped further inside and dropped a thick folder on top of the table, causing Tifa to get surprised.

"What are those?" Tifa asked.

Scarlet smiled sarcastically. "Paperwork." She replied with a sneer before walking out of the room.

Tifa was silent for a few seconds, hardly believing what was happening to her, and then turned back to Rufus. "Excuse me," she began.

He stopped. "What?" he asked stiffly as he stopped writing notes on a notepad so that he could look at her.

"Not to be rude but… I have heard of ShinRa and Sephiroth before… and regarding Sephiroth… isn't he supposed to be dead?" she asked.

"Oh… that… well, to put it simply, we were just given another chance to live again." Rufus replied.

"Why?" she asked.

He ignored the question with a cold look on his face before he proceeded to write again and just started talking about Marketing and stuff.

She just bit her lower lip before she proceeded to listen carefully to Rufus. "Man, Barret and the others are really going to be happy about this… the closer I get to Rufus, the better and sooner we can get rid of him," she thought silently with a secret smile on her face.


	2. Second

Her Sweetest Revenge

=Second=

            "So, nice goin' with the Vice-Presidency, Tifa. How's ShinRa doin' now?" Barret asked over dinner five weeks later.

Tifa stared unbelievably at him. "How did you know that I'm the Vice-President? I didn't even come home here in this good ol' AVALANCHE HQ for more than a month!" she replied with a stunned expression on her face.

"Oh, c'mon, Tifa. It's all over the news for the past few weeks!" Yuffie replied excitedly.

She fell silent before continuing to eat, but she found that she had lost her appetite all of a sudden. "I see…" was all she could say.

"So, what's going on within the walls of ShinRa?" Cloud asked her.

"One thing I'm sure, I'm really homesick. Everyone's so stiff there! The only people that I could have a decent conversation with are Lucrecia, Elena and Reeve!" she remarked with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Lucrecia?" Cloud asked in awe.

"Why?" Tifa asked.

He thought for a while before turning to Vincent who was staring in awe at Tifa. "Nothing." Was all he replied.

"Who's Lucrecia?" Vincent asked.

"She's the new Head of the Science Department." Tifa replied, clueless on why Vincent was suddenly curious.

"What the @#$%?! ShinRa's got new executives? Are ya sure that bitch you're talkin' about isn't like that goddamn Hojo?!" Cid demanded from her.

"No! In fact, she's nice. Very nice. She's Sephiroth's…" she trailed off upon mentioning the name, realizing that she should've just shut up about it to avoid further surprises.

"SEPHIROTH?!" Everyone in the whole room exclaimed in shock.

Vincent could feel the room spinning around him and he suddenly couldn't move.

"What do you mean? Sephiroth's there too?! How… what…" Cloud stammered in disbelief, anger filling his eyes all of a sudden.

"Yeah. I don't know why the hell he is alive, but he's Rufus's personal General right now while Heidegger takes charge of the Turks and the SOLDIER full-time! Reeve's still the Urban Development Head, and Scarlet's still the bitch in the Weapons Department." She explained flatly.

"Man, we have a lot of targets… not only Rufus…" Barret said with nervous laughter.

"Man, how the hell are we going to handle this?" Yuffie asked.

"By the way, I have to comment on how you look, Tifa. You don't resemble your old self in that outfit and in that hairstyle. Tell me, what name did you give to them?" Red XIII asked.

"Tiffayne Lockheart. Didn't you hear from the news?" Tifa asked.

"Why the @#$% did you give out your @#$%^%$ real name?" Cid demanded in shock.

"The only _real_ thing in that name is the surname!" she replied. "Man, they're really beginning to pressure me…" she thought silently as she pushed her plate slightly away from herself. "I think I'd better go back to ShinRa now… Rufus might be looking for me already," she told him.

"Hey, Tifa," Cloud called out.

She turned to him before she got up. 

He handed her a gun. "Here you go." He said.

Tifa took the gun and examined it. "Wh…what is this for?" she asked, realizing that it was a small specialized pistol.

"Just in case you decided to just shoot their brains out." Barret pointed out.

She smiled slightly and just nodded her head. "Thanks." She replied plainly before hiding the gun inside the secret pocket of her blazer. "I'd better go now," she told them before she waved goodbye and ran off.

"You think she's doing her job well? She didn't tell us about what she's doing to investigate the situation inside ShinRa." Cloud asked, turning to Barret.

"She'd bettah be doin' her job well!" Barret replied.

Cloud sighed heavily before he took a sip of water from his glass. He noticed that Vincent suddenly appeared so serious and there was this sadness on his face. To everyone's surprise, Vincent just spoke up out of the blue, "What did ShinRa do to you guys anyway?"

The whole room was filled with silence for a few seconds before Barret proceeded to answer. "Ruined my life. Destroyed Corel… the place where I used to live…"

Silence again.

"They're plain @#$^%$# and I @#%%%# hate them… feh. Didn't give me enough @#$%^%$ salary when I was still workin' for them. Poo!" Cid spit out a small chicken bone onto his plate.

"They caused several bad things to happen in Wutai…" Yuffie stated flatly with a sad look on her face.

Red XIII just looked up at them. "They almost used me as a specimen to mate with Aerith so that we could reproduce." He replied solemnly.

Cloud lowered his gaze onto the floor with a sudden sadness in his eyes. "If it wasn't for ShinRa, there'd be no Sephiroth… and without a Sephiroth, Aerith would still… still be here," he stammered softly.

Silence.

Vincent just bowed down his head before he got up and started for the door.

"What about you, Vincent? What did ShinRa do to you?" Barret asked with a disappointed tone.

Vincent stopped in his tracks for a while before murmuring, "They took away my life." And he left.

Silence.

The moment Vincent got out, he sighed heavily and just proceeded to climb up on the roof to gaze at the stars. He leaned back against the chimney and gazed up at the stars with a sad look on his face. "Lucrecia…" he whispered softly against the blowing evening breeze.

            When Tifa got back to the ShinRa HQ, she had been informed that Rufus was in a meeting with the Executives.

"Have you eaten your dinner yet, Tiffayne?" Elena asked.

"Yeah." Tifa replied with an apologetic look on her face, meaning to tell Elena that she couldn't accompany her to dinner in the cafeteria.

"Oh, that's too bad. Oh well, I'll just wait in the cafeteria," Elena replied.

"For what?" Tifa asked.

"Make sure that the food for Scarlet, Reeve, Heidegger, Palmer and Lucrecia are still there and then guard the food so that Reno wouldn't eat it." Elena replied.

Tifa thought for a while before smiling sweetly at Elena. "You know, I'd like you to tell Rude that he and you were just given an off by Rufus." She told her.

"Wh…what? But what about the food?" Elena asked.

"Never mind the food. There are no flies in the cafeteria and Reno is probably in a bar downtown. Don't you remember that it's his off tonight?" Tifa asked with a gentle smile on her face.

Elena giggled sheepishly. "Oh yeah! Silly me!" she said before rushing to the elevator. "Okay, I'll tell Rude that we also have an off!" she called out before she boarded the elevator.

Tifa's smile faded away. "Now to find Reno…" she thought silently before heading for the cafeteria. "I'm sorry, Elena… I know that you're really nice but I have to do this for everyone's sake!" she thought silently. She just made a fool out of Elena by making her believe that it was Reno's off… and that she and Rude also has an off. "That way, she can hang out with Reno." She thought silently.

Upon entering the cafeteria, Reno was there eating his own dinner alone. Tifa immediately walked over to him.

Reno raised his gaze to her and smiled somewhat slyly at the sight of her. He had to admit, she's a hot chick… and he sometimes wondered if she was the type to sleep around. "Heck, she must've slept with President Rufus so that she could land as his Vice President! What a slut…" he thought silently. But from the back of his head, he was thinking, "He somewhat resemble that AVALANCHE girl with the same surname… but oh well, who cares? Tiffayne's much more mature-lookin' than that Tifa," 

Tifa sat down on the chair opposite Reno's and leaned forward to him, resting her elbows on the table. "Hello, Reno." She greeted sweetly but rather seductively.

He unconsciously dropped his spoon on his plate, making a loud noise. "Er… hi, Miss Lockheart," he greeted, trying to sound suave.

"Here goes…" Tifa thought silently before proceeding. "Listen, you look like you need a break from your job. Why don't you get an off and get a drink or something outside this place?" she asked.

He blinked at her. "An off?" he asked unbelievably.

"Yeah. And if I have time, I might catch up with you. What about that bar in Sector 7?" she asked.

Reno thought for a while. "Sounds good." He told her before he got up, looking around. He realized that it was only the two of them inside the cafeteria and that the food for the other executives were still on the other table next to his. He turned back to Tifa with a silly smile on his face. "Well, thanks a lot, Miss Lockheart. I really need a break. How'd you know anyway?" he asked.

"Oh, it's in your wonderful eyes, Reno. Heeheeheehee!" She told him… though she was very sarcastic.

But the guy fell for it. "Gee… heheheh. Thanks." He told her before raking his fingers through his hair while a slight blush formed on his cheeks. He winked at her. "You're really very beautiful," he told her before he left.

She waited until he got out of the cafeteria before her facial expression changed into look of disgust. "Gross." She muttered with a disgusted tone before she got up and pulled out a packet of some kind of white powdery material. She went to the table where the executives' foods were prepared and she carefully sprinkled some of the powdery material on the foods labeled with names for their respective owners: Heidegger, Scarlet and Palmer… but the quantity of the sprinkled powder was more on Scarlet's. She waited for a few seconds until the powder had finally dissolved and had mixed within the foods.

She snickered slightly before she hid the powder again inside her pocket. "That will teach them a lesson… especially Scarlet. They're gonna be friends with the toilet bowl for seven days at the most… maybe Scarlet's gonna be the one who'll get 7 days and then the two guys will get like five days or so… heheheh…" she thought silently before walking out of the cafeteria. "They won't be able to attend several meetings and several conferences. Rufus is going to get impatient and he will eventually get mad at them and give them salary deductions… or worse, kick them out of ShinRa!" she thought as she proceeded to the 70th floor where Rufus's office is located.

Realizing that the secretary wasn't there, she just continued her way to his office and entered.

No one was there.

She smiled slightly before going to his PC, switching it on and then going to his files. At first, she thought that Rufus was stupid because there was no password, but then at the middle of her readings, she realized that the most important files about JENOVA and Mako were password-protected.

"Damn…" she thought silently before exiting the programs and then switching off the PC. It was a good thing that she was wearing black gloves so that he wouldn't be able to trace fingerprints. Turning to the table, she saw that there was an accountant's journal on top of it, opened to a page with the recent expenses. There was a note on top of it which read, "_Recent expenses for Distribution of Electricity"._

She bit her lower lip before thinking of going through the other pages. With that, grabbing a pencil and an eraser from his pen holder, she erased the total and replaced it with a much bigger number, and then went through some of the other numbers and then replaced them all. With that, she returned everything in their proper places and then left the office.

The moment she got into her office, she saw that Rufus was there, standing by the window and looking up at the stars. "P…President Rufus!" she said in awe.

Rufus instantly turned to her and smiled slightly. "Tiffayne," he said. 

"Wh…what are you doing here, sir?" she asked as she approached him.

"I just thought that I'd meet you here instead of calling you to the conference room. I just adjourned the meeting moments ago," he told her.

She nodded uneasily. "I see, President Rufus…" she stammered.

"_Rufus_." He corrected.

"Huh?" she asked.

"I want you to quit the formality. Just call me _Rufus." He told her._

She smiled uneasily. "R…Rufus…" she replied.

He flipped his hair.

"Is that your nickname?" she asked him with a curious tone, not really knowing what else to say to him.

"It's actually my first name already… and it's also a nickname." He told her.

She giggled. "Why not _Ruffy?" she asked playfully._

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Ruffy?" he asked.

"Yeah. It sounds cute!" she said.

He smiled and chuckled lightly at what she had mentioned before flipping his hair again. "You know, you never fail to make me laugh," he told her.

She frowned at him. "Oh, so I'm a big joke to you?" she asked.

He shook his head before flipping his hair. "No, you misunderstood. I meant it in a more positive way. You see, I'm always stressed out from work and… it wouldn't really hurt to get some amusement once in a while from my executives," he told her.

"Why, the others don't amuse you?" she asked.

"They anger me." He admitted.

Silence.

"What about you? Is _Tiffayne already your nickname?" he asked her._

"No, it's…" she trailed off. She almost revealed the truth: "No, it's not my real name. My real name is Tifa." But she just shut up.

"It's what?" he asked curiously.

She smiled sheepishly at him. "You can just call me _Tifa_." She told him sweetly.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Tifa?" he asked.

She froze. "Uh-oh… wrong move," she thought silently.

He smiled at her. "Why not _Tiffy__?" he asked her rather playfully._

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" she asked unbelievably.

"We should be even! You want call me _Ruffy and so I must call you _Tiffy_." He pointed out._

She laughed at what he said. "No way! Okay, I'll just stick to calling you _Rufus_; and in return, you call me _Tifa_." She told him before unconsciously reaching out for his hand and squeezing it gently against hers.

He was quite amazed at her sudden action, but didn't say anything… though his thoughts could be clearly seen in his eyes. Upon realizing what she had done, she immediately let go of his hand and acted like nothing happened. 

"So, you've had your dinner already?" she asked him.

"Not yet. Still have so much to do," he told her.

"I think you should eat first." She told him as she took his hand again and led the way to the door.

"Wh…where are we going?" he asked her.

"I love seafood! Do you love seafood?" she asked as they boarded the elevator.

He had this confused look on his face. "Y…yeah. Why?" he asked.

She giggled sweetly. "Then we're eating at that new seafood restaurant in the Wall Market!" she told him.

His eyes widened in awe. "Wall Market?!"

Slummy Area alert.

"I… I…" he stammered.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm here! No one will harm you! Oh yeah, you can also remove your white jacket and trench coat so that you wouldn't look too formal." She told him as she forcefully undressed him from his white jacket and trench coat, revealing to her eyes what he was wearing underneath those tops: a black long-sleeved turtle neck. She tried to ignore the fact that he has a great body but it wouldn't work. His shoulders were broader than Cloud and his poise is like a prince's. She had to turn her head away from him for a few moments so that he wouldn't see her blushing intensely. "Did it suddenly become hot inside this place?" she thought silently before they got out of the elevator and placed his jacket and trench coat on top of the receptionist's desk.

Rufus smiled at her. "Okay then, I'll drive." He told her as he led the way to the parking lot.

During the drive to the Wall Market, Tifa suddenly had a new idea: "This is how I'm going to put Rufus ShinRa down: I'm going to get him closer to me and then get rid of him… that would definitely hurt his feelings and then that will bring him down until he goes insane… and then the last person whom I'm gonna have to think of getting rid of is Sephiroth… but I think I'll leave that to the others. I'll stick with Rufus and the executives coz I know how weak they are. I just started off with the executives by giving them laxative… I'll start tonight with Rufus too…" she thought silently. She hid her smile from him. "And it's gonna be like slow and painful death." She thought silently.

================================================= 

Author's note: I'm sorry for the OOC. It's for the sake of the fic. Anyway, I'll continue this later after I finish my thesis proposal…


	3. Third

Her Sweetest Revenge

By: Riquisel Yutifae

Author's Note: I'm really, really, really sorry for the OOC. ='( 

And yes, to those who are curious, my penname came from RInoa, QUIstis, SELphie and then YUffie, TIFa and AErith. =_='

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

=Third=

            Rufus was looking around the small seafood restaurant in the Wall Market. "This place is…" he didn't continue anymore, not wanting to hurt Tifa's feelings.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Oh, Rufus, the food here is great! Especially if you order Lobster!" she told him.

"Well, how much is the food here?" he asked before flipping his hair and sat down beside Tifa.

"Oh don't worry about it, everything's for only 70 Gil." She replied with a sweet smile on her face.

Rufus just tried to avoid the fact that everyone was staring at him.

"Gee… he looks like the President…" some of the people were muttering.

"Why the hell did I agree to go here with Tifa? I should've just suggested that we eat at the seafood restaurant in Sector 1!" he thought silently with a deep frown on his face, but his thoughts were interrupted when the chef approached them. "Well, what will you two young fellas have?" the chef asked with a warm smile.

"Buttered shrimp, please," Tifa replied.

"Uhm… fish fillet with tartar sauce." He told the chef.

"Coming up," the chef left them for a while.

Tifa sighed heavily. "You want to drink something?" she asked Rufus.

"What kind?" he asked.

"I mean, later on… after dinner. In case you want to have some wine or something alcoholic, we can always go to the bar near the Honey Bee Inn." She told him.

"Honey Bee Inn?" he asked in disbelief. He somewhat blushed at the name of the place.

She giggled. "Oh, c'mon, Rufus, don't tell me you wanna go there?!" she joked as she gently nudged his arm with her elbow.

He frowned at what she said. "Of course not! I'm simply too refined to be going to that disgusting place." he said as he flipped his hair and smiled playfully at her. "…Unless you want to?" he joked.

Her mouth dropped open at what he said and she gasped slightly. "?!"

He laughed at her. "I was just kidding, Tifa," he said.

She smiled softly upon hearing his laughter and the way he smiles. She turned away from him and just faced the table in front of them while watching the chef cook their food.

He stopped laughing and moved closer to her, "So… do you have a boyfriend already?" he asked.

She turned to him with a ridiculous look on her face. "Nope. Why do you ask?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing… I was just wondering… but you've had several ex-boyfriends, right?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I've never had a boyfriend before." She admitted.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Never?" he asked in awe.

She smiled calmly at him. "Never." She swore.

He just shrugged and turned to the chef when he saw him approaching with their food.

"That's 70 Gil each." The chef told them as he placed their meals in front of them.

Tifa pulled out some cash from her wallet but then Rufus stopped her. "Let me," he told her.

She felt a little embarrassed but she just let him pay. "After all, this is just an act, right?" she reminded herself quietly as she returned her wallet inside her pocket.

Rufus pulled out 500 Gil and handed it to the chef. "Keep the change, sir." He said with a kind smile on his face.

The chef was overwhelmed for a few seconds before coming back to his senses. "Well… uh… thank you, sir." He told Rufus before turning away.

"That's a lot of money… are you sure?" Tifa whispered to Rufus with an unsure look on his face, realizing that everyone else was looking at them.

"Yeah. Why?" he asked her.

"But…" she stammered.

"Money isn't everything." He reminded her with a wink. With that, he started eating. She gazed at him in awe for a few seconds. "Man… what happened to him? Did he go through rehabilitation for the two years that he wasn't here?" she thought silently. "…just like Sephiroth… they're nicer…" she continued to think silently as she ate her meal.

From the corner of her eye, she could tell that Rufus had been stealing glances at her. She just ignored it and proceeded to eat, but she couldn't help but smile.

After dinner, they proceeded to the bar to drink some wine.

"You know, I have to admit, the food here is better than the ones in Sector 1." He told her as they sat down together on one of the lounge sofas inside the bar.

"You haven't tried the street food yet like the fish balls, squid balls and the crab sticks! Those are really scrumptious! You wanna grab some of those after this one?" she asked.

"Nah… maybe next time. I'm already full." He told her apologetically before finishing off his glass of red wine.

"Oh, so you're planning on a 'next time'?" she asked excitedly.

He smiled at her. "If you want to," he told her.

She nodded eagerly. "Of course, Rufus, of course," she told him before she mindlessly got his hand and held it against her own. When she noticed his surprised expression, that was when she realized that she was holding his left hand. She stared at his hand for a few seconds before putting it down on his lap again, realizing that he wasn't wearing his glove and it was bandaged. Her heart jumped at the sight of it. "Wh…what happened to your…" she stammered.

He just stared blankly at his own hand. "Got burned." He told her.

Her eyes widened. "H…how?" she asked, suddenly feeling nervous about his situation.

"When ShinRa exploded two years ago due to Diamond Weapon. I was in my Office. No time to get out. I didn't know why I couldn't move… and when the explosion occurred, I shielded myself with my left arm... and so I eventually got this," he told her solemnly even though his tone sounded stiff.

She reached out for his hand and touched it gently, caressing it slowly as she stared at it with some pity in her eyes. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

"Don't pity me, Tifa. It's just a second-degree burn. It will eventually get well. Lucrecia just advised that I put bandages around it with some medicinal cream underneath." He explained rather stiffly.

"Second-degree?" she asked in disbelief. She had expected it to be a third-degree burn.

"Surprising. I know. Even the doctors were amazed." He told her with a bitter smile on his face.

She gazed into his eyes with a gentle smile on her face before giving his hand a kiss. He raised an eyebrow at her, surprised at what she did. "Wh… wha…" he stammered.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

"Not anymore. It used to sting so much but now, it's just itchy." He told her with a reassuring look on his face.

She smiled happily. "Well, it means that it's healing pretty fast." She told him.

He smiled at her before mindlessly touching her face with his right hand. "You're so cheerful. I like that," he admitted.

She wanted to smack herself for blushing all of a sudden, but she just tried to maintain her poise and still continued to smile at Rufus like she was dense or something. "I just try to maintain a positive attitude all the time… especially whenever I have problems," she told him.

He withdrew his hand from her. "That's what I've noticed about you whenever you're working and under pressure. Tell me, how do you do it?" he asked with a probing look in his eyes.

She shrugged. "I guess it just comes naturally… because I don't want to feel sad." She told him.

He smiled slyly at her. "Heh heh heh heh…" he chuckled lightly.

"What's so funny?" she asked him with slight frown on her face.

"You don't want to feel sad? Why? I think sadness is everywhere… tell me, what makes you feel sad?" he asked with a smile that Tifa couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or not.

"If I get disappointed about something, I feel sad…" she stated flatly, not really wanting to answer the question.

"What can make you disappointed?" he asked her curiously.

She thought for a few moments, thinking of she should tell him the truth or not.

"You can trust me, Tifa," he told her.

She just sighed and looked away. "I don't like it whenever I get broken-hearted…" she told him.

Silence.

"Broken-hearted?" he asked.

She just nodded.

Silence.

He just shrugged and took her hand, holding it gently. "Don't worry about it. Whoever he is, you don't deserve him. Who knows, there's another person in store for you… someone who'll love you truly." He told her.

She shivered. "Icks… he's actually really nice… and sympathetic! What the hell happened to him?! Did he bump his head on something when ShinRa exploded?" she thought silently as she kept a straight face at him. "Thanks, Rufus," she just said softly.

He glanced at his watch and raised his eyebrows. "Well, I guess time flies when you're having fun, huh?" he asked casually before he let go of her hand and got up from the seat.

Tifa turned to her own watch and realized that it was already 11:30 in the evening. "What the… how long did…" she thought silently as she followed after Rufus and walked out of the bar.

During the ride back to ShinRa HQ in Sector 1, he was just quiet… so was she.

She was thinking of what else to do to Rufus while they are still together at that moment, though she is sure that that isn't the last time that they would be going out. "Well, the sooner the better, right?" she reminded herself quietly as she took quick but shy glances at Rufus on purpose so that he would eventually notice her and turn to her direction and maybe ask her a question on what's wrong or anything else.

"Anything wrong, Tifa?" he asked.

She smiled victoriously but turned her head away from his gaze so that he wouldn't see her. "Nothing," she told him with a shy tone as she clasped her hands together on her lap and acted like she is nervous or something.

Rufus noticed her sudden actions. "You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah…" she replied with a tone that seemed to falter.

Unfortunately, there was a little traffic on the roads of Sector 2 leading to Sector 1, so they were just stuck there for more than 20 minutes.

Rufus sighed heavily. "Oh well… I'll just move the meeting tomorrow at around 3 pm so that I can still sleep the whole morning." He said out loud as he stretched a little.

She turned to him with a look of awe. "Oh, Rufus. Did I tire you or something?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" he asked in confusion.

"I was the one who forced you to go out and have dinner in the Wall Market with me and now you're tired…" she stammered.

He shook his head. "No. You didn't. Don't worry about it," he told her with a wink before turning his eyes back onto the road. He had this somewhat blank stare but he still managed to smile softly. "You remind me of someone…" he told her.

"Who?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Nah…" he disagreed.

"Aw, c'mon! Who?" she urged playfully.

"She looks exactly like you… except that her hair's not braided and her clothes are… not so elegant as yours. I think she's even as tall as you are if you remove those heels…" he explained.

She frowned slightly. "Really? Who's she?" she asked.

"I don't even know her name. That's the strangest part." He told her.

"Is she a crush or something?" she asked with a probing tone.

"Well… I guess I could say that I was somewhat… attracted to her. The only thing hindering me from approaching her is the fact that she's… she's from the enemy's side." he explained.

She thought for a while, imagining his situation. "Well,  you should've fought for your love! Oh wait, that's cheesy…" she muttered suddenly and then burst out laughing. "Heeheeheehee! Oh what the hell… well, where is she now?" she asked mindlessly.

"I don't know… maybe she's already married to that… that blonde guy with spiky hair." He said with a deep frown on his face. 

She stopped laughing and realized that he suddenly looked disappointed and somewhat annoyed. She bowed down her head. "What made you think of that?" she asked. "Blonde with spiky hair?" she thought silently, trying to picture the guy in her hair.

"I don't know… but sometimes, I feel that way… and it makes me somewhat… sad…" he admitted, feeling a little awkward because he was admitting his true feelings to her. "Never mind…" he said in the end.

She looked up at the stars. "Maybe you could try wishing her back. I'm sure she's not yet married. Who knows, maybe she's also looking for you." She told him. "Damn… the things I have to say to sound convincing," she thought silently.

He just kept quiet.

After a few moments, the traffic had eased up and they started to move again.

Upon arriving at the ShinRa Building, Rufus parked the car inside his private garage. They got down from the car and walked together going to the elevator.

"Well, it's past midnight already," she told him.

He was just quiet.

"You're not going to your office at this hour, are you?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Nah." He replied.

The elevator stopped at the 35th floor. "Good night," Rufus told her before stepping out of the elevator, leaving her there, but she grabbed his hand and stopped him, pulled him back inside and gave him a long kiss on the lips. His eyes widened in awe.

She wrapped her arms around him. "Good night, Rufus," she whispered against his lips before she let him go. He slowly moved out of the elevator with a stunned expression on his face.

The elevator door closed and it proceeded up to the 40th floor where her quarters are located.

Rufus touched his own lips with a trembling hand as he proceeded down the hallway of the 35th floor. He stopped upon reaching a certain door and he tried to regain his calm poise before opening it. The room was dimly-lit with the lamp by the bed. He smiled calmly. "Hi," he greeted.

She raised her green eyes to him and smiled sweetly, though she looked weary. She was lying down on the bed. "Hi, Rufus," she greeted softly.

He closed the door and approached her. "How do you feel?" he asked.

She sighed heavily. "I don't know… but I think I'll be okay…" she said softly.

"Is there anything else I can do?" he asked as he sat down on the couch by the bed.

She swallowed hard. "I want to see him…" she said softly.

He nodded. "I know… but I still need some time." He told her.

She nodded her head solemnly. "Did you go out with Tifa?" she asked.

He smiled. "Yeah." He told her.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"She's…" he stammered.

"C'mon, ShinRa, say it! She never fails to captivate you," Sephiroth pointed out from one corner of the room.

Rufus jerked upon hearing Sephiroth and seeing him standing by the window. The room was so dim that he didn't notice his friend at first. "Oh, so you're here," Rufus said simply.

She giggled.

"What's so funny?" Rufus demanded, turning back to her. "You've got some lipstick smeared on your lips," she said simply.

He rolled his eyes, looking away from her and then turning to Sephiroth. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked.

"Mom told me to guard her while she's getting her medication. Can't let the other executives know that we're keeping her here." Sephiroth replied.

"Yeah… or else they might do something to her." Rufus replied before he got up and mindlessly wiped his lips with the back of his right hand. "Well, I guess I'll be sleeping now." He told them.

"Sweet dreams, Rufus," she said sweetly.

"Yeah, whatever," Rufus muttered miserably before proceeding to the door.

"She said _sweet_ dreams, Rufus; not wet dreams!" Sephiroth joked.

"That's disgusting!" Rufus snapped at him before he walked out of the room.

She turned back to Sephiroth and stopped giggling. "How is she?" she asked.

"She's still the same, I guess… though I think AVALANCHE is up to something and they're using her weakness for this." He explained.

She sighed heavily. "I hope she changes her mind…" she prayed softly…


	4. Fourth

Her Sweetest Revenge

By: Riquisel Yutifae

=Four=

            Tifa couldn't sleep. "Darn it…" she muttered miserably as she looked at the digital clock on her bedside table. It read 3:00 am. She rolled her eyes before reaching for her mobile phone, wondering if Yuffie or any of her friends from AVALANCHE is still awake. She dialed the number to AVALANCHE's so-called "main HQ" which is in Barret's house in the new Sector 7.

After seven rings, Cloud answered with a sleepy tone, "What is it?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Cloud?" she asked in disbelief.

"Who's this?" he asked.

"It's Tifa," she said with a rather sweet tone.

He was quiet for a few seconds before replying, "Oh, it's you."

"Did I wake you up?" she asked, feeling a little embarrassed.

"What do you think?" he asked her with hints of sarcasm.

Silence.

"Sorry," she told him apologetically with a sheepish tone.

"It's okay. So why did you call? Anything wrong?" he asked her.

"I can't sleep." She admitted.

"So?" he asked blankly.

"Cloud?!" she snapped impatiently. Some guys can really be so insensitive.

He chuckled lightly. "Anyway, why can't you sleep?" he asked.

She sighed heavily. "I don't know…" she began.

"So what happened last night?" he asked.

She sat up on her bed. "Well, I placed some laxative on those executives' food… except for Reeve coz he's really nice. And really, I need help with Sephiroth." She told him.

"Why only Sephiroth? Aren't you having a hard time with Rufus?" he asked her curiously.

"I really find Rufus to be an easy target, you know?" she asked with a proud tone.

"And why did you say so?" he asked.

"I think he changed his attitude a little bit… he doesn't seem so stiff now. I realized that only last night when I forced him to have dinner with me at the Wall Market and then we drank some wine in the new bar near the Honeybee Inn…." 

She was cut off suddenly when she heard Cloud snickering slightly. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Did you say _Honeybee Inn_?" he asked her.

Her eyes widened in disgust. "Oh for crying out loud! It's not what you think! Rufus and I…" she began, but Cloud spoke up again with a stiff tone, "Tifa, are you taking advantage of Rufus's weakness?"

Silence.

"That's what you want me to do, right?" she asked him.

"But how are you going to get rid of him if you have sex with him? Are you gonna act like a Black Widow spider?" he joked.

"Shut up, Cloud. I didn't do anything to Rufus." She muttered miserably.

"But are you planning to?" he asked probingly.

"BLOODY HELL, CLOUD!" she exclaimed unbelievably. "I'm not the type to sleep around!" she told him.

"Oh and moments ago, Cid and I were betting that you'd lose your virginity to Rufus ShinRa." Cloud explained.

Silence.

"I'm joking." He told her.

She frowned. "Very funny, Cloud Strife." She told him.

Silence.

"So, what else happened?" he asked sleepily.

Tifa was just silent, remembering that she kissed Rufus. She suddenly turned red.

"You're turning red and you're smiling." Cloud pointed out.

She froze. "Wh…what?" she asked nervously.

"C'mon, Tifa, you're my best friend. I know you. Spill the beans." He said rather lazily, his tone revealing to her that he's tired of denials.

"I kissed Rufus." She said.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know… I just did." She said flatly.

"You're trying to seduce the poor guy," he told her.

"Yeah, I guess so… but I'm just trying to be myself here. I even told him that my nickname is _Tifa so now he calls me by my real name which is _Tifa_." She said._

"Isn't he going to get suspicious?" he asked.

"I don't think so." She told him.

"You're making us nervous here," Cloud told her.

"Don't worry about me! I'm practically fine here as long as nobody has a clue on who I really am!" she reasoned.

"Okay then… now I see why you can't sleep." He told her.

"Yeah?" she challenged.

"You're thinking of Rufus." He told her.

Sometimes, she couldn't understand why such a serious guy can sometimes say the darnest things around and at an unexpected situation too. "I think I'll just go to sleep now." She told him, not wishing to talk more to him because it might lead to another playful argument. She hung up without saying goodbye and just placed her mobile phone on her bedside table before turning her gaze to the little space under the door of her room when light seeped in for a few seconds and then disappeared as if someone just passed by with a candle or something. She frowned slightly as it aroused her curiosity. She eventually got out of her bed and went to her door and opened it quickly, searching the hallway from her doorway, when suddenly, she saw a figure of a young woman walking down the hallway. She had long wavy brown hair and she was wearing a pink robe. She was holding a candle and she had her back to Tifa.

Tifa's eyes widened in awe. "W…what the…" she thought in alarm. 

A ghost?

NO!

She didn't think twice; she just ran down the hallway after the young woman and called out the name of the person that she had been missing for two years already, "Aerith!"

The young woman stopped walking and slightly turned around to face Tifa. She just smiled slightly at her before turning away again and ran off, disappearing through the other hallway.

Tifa continued to follow the young woman, but when she arrived at the hallway where she turned, she wasn't there anymore. Tifa stopped running as she panted and leaned against the wall. "Aerith," she whispered. She wanted to cry as she clenched her fists.

"What are you doing here?"

Tifa turned around and was surprised to see Sephiroth holding a candle. He was already wearing blue pajamas and a blue robe. His eyes were glowing with the candle's flame flickering.

"I… I thought I saw… someone…" she told him. "Damn… I mustn't let myself be off-guard…" she thought silently.

"Who?" he asked with a hard tone. He really didn't seem pleasant.

"Uhm… I am not sure… I think it's the ghost of an old friend of mine…" she stammered, not really knowing how to explain it to him.

"Oh. I see. Well, if you're here in ShinRa, you should get used to seeing too many ghosts… especially those from the past." He told her with a sly smile on his face as if scaring her.

She frowned at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Go back to your room before I tell Rufus that you're out here ghost-hunting." He told her stiffly as he shooed her away.

She made a face before going to the other direction back to her own room, leaving Sephiroth there.

The moment she was already away from him, he walked going to the direction of the elevator.

            "I thought we told you not to go out?" Sephiroth asked her.

She sighed heavily. "I can't help it… I want to see her… but she's talking to Cloud so I just decided to listen outside her room." She replied as he placed the blanket over her body.

"You're still not in a good condition to be walking around the hallway." He reminded her.

She just nodded. "I know that, Sephiroth," she said gently.

Lucrecia sighed heavily. "You're the one who's suffering. Why did you have to use all your prayers and powers just so that we could all go back here and start a new life?" she asked her.

She just smiled gently at Lucrecia. "Because we all deserve a second chance, right? Especially Sephiroth." She replied.

Sephiroth just shook his head and just smiled pitifully at her. 

She smiled sweetly at him. "Don't look at me like that, Sephy. Don't pity me. I'll be okay. Besides, you guys are here, right?" she asked.

Lucrecia stroked her long wavy brown hair as she smiled gently at her. "Yes, Aerith. We're just here…" she said gently.

With that, she closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The room was filled with silence all of a sudden until Sephiroth spoke up, "Mom, you think Tifa's suspecting something?" he asked.

"Of course, why else would she be sent here to spy on us… in case that's her real motive." Lucrecia explained.

"No, I mean… do you think she knows we're keeping Aerith here because Rufus had insisted that the three of us take care of her for what she had done to us in the Lifestream?" he asked.

Lucrecia just shrugged. "We wouldn't know…" she told him. "Just go to sleep now, Sephiroth." She suggested as she got up from the couch and led the way to the door. Her son followed after him. The moment they got out, Lucrecia mentioned something about Scarlet, Heidegger and Palmer complaining to her about stomach aches and diarrhea the whole evening. Sephiroth frowned. "I can see it now: they'll be complaining tomorrow to Rufus too." He said.

"Why did you say so?" she asked as they proceeded down the hallway.

"They wanted to speak to Rufus last night but he was out on a date with Tifa. They wanted him to cancel the meetings and discussions tomorrow because they really don't feel so well." He explained.

Lucrecia laughed. "Well, it must be something they ate last night," she explained.

"But Reeve had the same dinner. I also ate the same food." He pointed out.

"Maybe the devil is playing tricks on them, dear." She said.

"Mom, that is so unscientific," he pointed out with a ridiculous look on his face.

She chuckled. "Sephiroth, remember, I'm not like Hojo." She told him with a wink.

"Ugh. Don't you ever mention that name again." Sephiroth muttered.

"Why not? Don't you love your father?" Lucrecia asked with hints of sarcasm on her tone.

He made a face. "What the…?! Mom?!" he said with a voice that almost sounded like a growl. She laughed at him. "I know, I know, Sephy… we both hate him for what he had done to us. But not to worry though… he's gone and we're here for a second chance." She explained before her face turned serious. Sephiroth could easily determine the sadness in his mother's eyes. "Anything wrong?" he asked.

She just smiled bitterly. "Nothing. I just remembered someone else…" she explained.

He nodded his head slightly. "Care to tell me about it?" he asked.

She just shook her head. "You know who he is. I don't want to elaborate. I could tell that he hates me for what I've done so it's no use thinking about him right now." She told him before stopping by the doorway of her quarters. "G'night, Sephy," she told him before standing on tiptoe to give him a kiss on his cheek.

He just gave off a blank stare to his mother as he watched her enter her bedroom and then closed the door. Sephiroth sighed heavily before turning to the other doorway opposite Lucrecia's room. With that, he entered his own room and just decided to think of a way to help his own mother. 

As he lay in bed, he was thinking, "What's his name again?"

            Tifa knew that she was late for work and that it would all cause a salary deduction… but she did not really care that much as she entered her office at around 1:00 pm and realized that there were tons of paperwork for her to do. Three thick folders were already piled up on her desk and she groaned upon reading the titles: _New Plans for Space Development; Newly-Developed Weapons (Blueprints inside); and _Reports on SOLDIER Disciplinary Issues and Cases._ Beside the pile was a note written in a style that almost looked like chicken-tracks. She narrowed her eyes on the handwriting as she read it out loud slowly so that she can also comprehend it, "Miss Lockheart, these will help you for your new marketing plan. Good luck! Love lots, Scarlet" and then there was a drawing of the woman's evil smile beside the signature. Of course, the "love lots" part was full of sarcasm. _

Tifa made a face before crumpling the paper and threw it in the bin before staring at the thick pile. "How the hell am I going to use these things?!" she wailed out loud.

She was interrupted when the door just burst open. It was Sephiroth.

She stiffened upon seeing him. 

He smiled rather sweetly at her. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt you?" he asked.

She just shook her head frantically, hoping that he did not notice that her eyes had widened in shock and surprise when he entered.

He approached her and he was holding a long brown envelope with a "CONFIDENTIAL" mark on its flap together with the ShinRa Electric Power Company logo. He handed her the envelope. "It's some old files. I'd like you to take a look at it." He told her.

She was quiet as she pulled out a bunch of papers from inside. Everything looked like resumes of new employees, but upon staring at the pictures and what was written on all the papers, she realized that it was some kind of bio-data of people who had been in ShinRa's list of "to-be-hunted-down-and-then-killed".

She swallowed hard as she scanned the files:

_Gainsborough, Aerith; Highwind, Cid; Lockheart, Tifa; Strife, Cloud; Valentine, Vincent; Wallace, Barret…_ and so on.

"Only a few, huh?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"Those are just AVALANCHE. There are plenty more where that came from," he told her with a snobbish look on his face before turning to the pile of folders on her desk. "Lotsa work today, huh?" he asked.

"Uh… yeah… and I wonder why those three handed these to me all of a sudden and didn't wait until the 3 o' clock meeting." She responded flatly.

"They're out sick. Loose bowel movement." He explained.

Silence.

"I see," she replied before pretending to be interested in the contents of the brown envelope. "So, what am I going to do with this?" she asked him casually.

"Do you know them?" he asked directly with a serious look on his face.

"Shit… is he suspecting something?" she asked herself silently before shaking her head in disagreement. "I don't think so…" she muttered.

"Not even three of them?" he asked.

"Huh?" she wondered.

"Never mind," Sephiroth snatched the envelope and the papers. "Don't forget the meeting at 3 o' clock." He told her before he walked out of her office.

She sighed heavily before rolling her eyes and then just plopped down on her seat. "Damn…" she muttered miserably. "I'm gonna screw up… Rufus is going to expect results at 3… I am not yet even finished with the draft…" she thought silently. Then, she just shrugged her problem away. "Oh well, I'll just say whatever pops out from my mind…" she said with a cheerful look on her face.

============================= 

To be continued.


	5. Fifth

Her Sweetest Revenge

By: Riquisel Yutifae

=Fifth=

            Rufus glared furiously at the three empty seats before him. "Where are those three?" he demanded rather gruffly. His hair still looked ruffled and his inner coat was not yet pressed. Tifa could tell that he slept really late and could not wake up early and when he woke up, it was already five minutes before 3:00… the time for the meeting.

Rufus brushed back his hair with his right hand while his left hand held a few documents.

"Well, they cannot make it, sir. They have diarrhea." Reeve explained.

Rufus raised his eyebrows. "What?" he demanded.

"Didn't you see the note in your office, sir?" Reeve asked.

"Didn't pass by my office. I went straight here," Rufus raked his fingers through his hair repetitively as if meaning to comb it back so that his blonde locks wouldn't fall onto his eyes therefore blocking his vision. "Tsk." He reacted, realizing that he forgot to use gel again.

Tifa bit her lower lip to stop herself from giggling because somehow, she thought Rufus looked so cute whenever he gets annoyed. "Umph…" she pressed her lips together and turned away from Rufus, her cheeks forming a slight blush.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "Anything funny, Miss Lockheart?" he asked rather sarcastically.

Tifa eyed Sephiroth rather cautiously.

Rufus stared at the two.

Tifa shook her head. "N…nothing," she replied.

Sephiroth just turned to Rufus with a blank look on his face.

"Why the hell do those lazy oafs have diarrhea? Are you sure they're not faking it?" Rufus asked, turning back to Reeve with an impatient look on his face.

"I cannot even come near their rooms in the infirmary, sir, they stink! They're being treated by the doctor and the nurse there to avoid dehydration. I don't even know how they got it because we all had the same dinner last night." Reeve explained with a weak smile on his face.

"Oh well, never mind… the meeting is now in session." Rufus began before he proceeded to discuss several things relevant to the new developments for ShinRa and for the whole of Midgar.

Then came the part wherein Rufus was asking for any progress from the different departments of ShinRa. "Lucrecia?" he asked, turning to the scientist.

She smiled sweetly at Rufus before replying, "Just doing revisions of formulas and continuing some of the non-destructive experiments of Hojo… if only I could understand his handwriting."

"I see. What about the old files that I was telling you about?" he asked her.

"Which one?" she asked.

"MAKO and JENOVA." He replied.

She thought for a while before replying, "Hid them."

Rufus nodded before turning to Reeve. "And for the Urban Development Department?" he asked.

"Still fixing bad roads and building a townhouse and a big apartment for the homeless in the slums just like what you ordered, sir. The rest of Midgar is fine." Reeve explained with a determined look on his face.

"Sephiroth," Rufus turned to the silver-haired guy seated facing Tifa.

He turned to Rufus. "Turks are okay… except that last night, they thought that it was their free day." He explained with a serious look on his face.

"What? How come?" Rufus asked in disbelief.

"I don't know. Maybe someone _tricked them." Sephiroth replied with a sarcastic and hinting tone before turning to Tifa._

She just frowned at him. She wanted to kick his shin for saying that, but the table was too wide for her feet to reach him. He made a face at her before turning back to Rufus. "Oh yeah, and since the Weapons Department, Space Development and Peace Keepings are not here, our dear Vice President is here to represent them too." He said with a sarcastic glint in his eye.

Rufus turned to Tifa with a serious look on his face. She had expected him to smile at her, but he did not. It made her feel nervous all of a sudden. 

"Uhm… for the Weapons Department… I'm suggesting that… we build a weapon as powerful as the Diamond Weapon. It will be useful for us especially if we go into battle! And… the reconstruction of the Sister Ray should be disregarded because there's no point in reconstructing such a useless weapon…" 

"How did you know that it's such a useless weapon? Have you _seen it work before?" Sephiroth asked probingly._

She clenched her fist. "No, I haven't, but judging from the name, it sounds… bad. Anyway," she turned back to Rufus with a calm smile on her face, "for the Space Development Department, I think we should hire more scientists for this department because Palmer cannot really work alone especially since this is the age of technology and space travel is beginning to get in demand. We can also use this as a means for gaining more profit for our Company, offering people a ride going to outer space and touring them around!"

Rufus nodded his head and little by little, his lips were already beginning to form a smile. "Yes, go on," he urged her.

She nodded her head and took a deep breath before proceeding, "And finally, for the Peace Keepings, I would like to suggest that…"

"We send out several Soldiers to investigate within Midgar's premises to see if there are still rebels lurking around… especially AVALANCHE." Sephiroth cut her off.

"NO!" Tifa protested, pounding on the table with her fist. "Will you stop interrupting me?" she demanded.

He just smiled nastily at her. "Yes, Miss Lockheart." He said.

Rufus frowned at the two of them. "What's the matter with you?" he asked calmly.

"I'll excuse myself for a while, I need to check on something," Sephiroth got up and left the room with a malicious smile on his face.

"Shit…" Tifa thought silently. "The big guy's beginning to suspect something…"

"Tifa," Rufus called her attention.

She turned back to her with a sweet smile on her face. "Yes, President Rufus?" she asked.

"Go on," he urged her with a smile on his face.

She sighed heavily. She did not really know what to say about the Peace Keeping Division. "I… uhm…" she stammered.

Lucrecia and Reeve were eyeing the way Rufus was staring at Tifa. His gaze seemed to have a dreamy expression despite his stiff facial expression.

Tifa scratched her head. "Give the members of SOLDIER a higher salary every month." She said.

"And why is that?" he asked her.

"Because… because some of them might have come from far away places… who knows, it could be a poverty-stricken country or something and they're the only ones working for a living for their families. Some of them send their salary back to their homes so that their parents could have it and would only leave a few for themselves. Maybe you should also add benefits for them like insurances and holiday bonuses…" she explained.

Silence.

Rufus nodded his head before he began to write some notes on his notepad. After nearly 15 minutes, he stopped writing and turned to face her again. "Well, those were very good suggestions, Miss Lockheart," he remarked with a slight smile on his face.

Her eyes widened in shock. "Wh…what?" she asked in disbelief. "Damn, everything that I have just mentioned is supposed to sound lame for Rufus! He hates charity! He is supposed to be inconsiderate! He's supposed to be concerned about his money! Everything I mentioned to him will cost him big amounts of money!" she thought silently with a frantic look on her face.

"Congratulations, Miss Lockheart," Reeve said proudly.

Lucrecia just winked at Tifa. "Good job," she said.

Tifa still had this stunned look on her face even after Rufus had dismissed them. Reeve and Lucrecia left the room, leaving the two of them inside.

Rufus got up from his seat. "Are you alright?" he asked with a slight frown on his face as he studied the look on Tifa's face.

She swallowed hard as she looked down. "He _did change…" she thought silently. "He's not the same selfish guy we've all known before Meteor." She thought silently before she placed her hands on her lap._

He offered her his hand. "You look pale. Are you sick?" he asked.

"Damn… mustn't let this get to me. Who knows, this is just one of his political agendas so that people will like him and he'll develop more positive charisma. Hmf…" Tifa got up on her own after rethinking silently and took Rufus's hand with a sweet smile on her face. "Back to the plan, Tifa," she told herself silently. "No, I'm fine, Rufus," she said sweetly.

Rufus let go of her hand and turned back to the papers he left on the table. "I'd like to talk to you in my office. You wait for me there, I'll just gather these." He instructed rather stiffly.

"Sure," she told him before she headed for the door, but she stopped upon hearing Scarlet's voice echoing from the hallway, "Kyah! I don't trust that girl! I gave her my marketing plan and I don't know if she read it. She must've changed it or something and said something else to President Rufus!"

"But Scarlet, aren't you supposed to be sick?" Sephiroth asked with an impatient tone.

"Kyah! I am. I just want to check!" she replied.

Tifa suddenly had an idea. She went back to Rufus.

He turned to her with a curious look on his face. "What's wrong? I thought I already told you to wait for me in my office?" he asked.

She didn't say anything; she just pushed him onto his chair, forcing him to sit down. 

"What the… what are you doing?" he demanded with stunned look on his face.

To his amazement, she sat down on his lap and straddled him, moving closer to him as she embraced him.

When she heard the door open, she leaned further forward and gave Rufus a long passionate kiss.

"KYAH?!?!?" 

Sephiroth froze upon the scenario. "?!" was all he could think of in his thoughts before he turned away.

"KYAH!!!!! PRESIDENT RUFUS, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Scarlet screeched as she marched over to Rufus and Tifa, the pain in her own stomach suddenly disappearing due to too much of adrenaline and anger.

Tifa acted surprised upon seeing Scarlet and got up from the stunned Rufus ShinRa. 

"You slut!" Scarlet slapped her face.

Rufus snapped back into his senses when he heard and saw what Scarlet had said and done to Tifa. He instantly got up and pulled out his shotgun, aiming at the back of her head. Scarlet moved backward, away from Tifa who was ready to defend herself, unaware of the shotgun behind her and stopped when she felt the cold metal against her head.

"Rufus," Sephiroth began, going to them.

Rufus sneered at Scarlet, "What did you just do, Scarlet?"

"Kyahahaha…" nervous laughter. "Erh… Kyahahaha… I just…" she couldn't go on.

Tifa suddenly couldn't move. "Is he going to shoot her just because she hurt me?" she thought silently as she stared at the scene with wide eyes.

"Rufus, calm down," Sephiroth began. 

"Stay back, Sephiroth, let me take care of this," Rufus said calmly before turning back to Scarlet with a cold look on his face. "I thought you're sick? How come you're here?" he asked.

"Kyah… I…"

"You're faking it." He told her.

"No, sir, I…" she stammered.

"Silence!" he growled, making Tifa and Scarlet jerk because he sounded really angry and scary. Sephiroth just leaned back against one of the chairs and crossed his arms like nothing else meant to him.

Rufus put down his shot gun so that Scarlet could face him.

The older woman had this terrified look on her face. "President Rufus, I… I don't understand! Why is she… why is she… Why did you allow her to… to do that to you?!" she snapped at him.

"Why, you're jealous because I wouldn't let you do that to me?" Rufus asked.

Sephiroth snickered.

Scarlet fell silent. She was being mocked again. "No, Sir… I…" she stammered.

Rufus flipped his hair. "I can do whatever I want to do, Scarlet. You have no authority to tell me what I should do or what I should think of, especially what kind of girl I would like to have… because it will never be you," he told her.

Ouch.

Scarlet clenched her fists.

"Uh-oh… the more this woman's gonna hate me…" Tifa thought silently.

Scarlet sneered at Tifa before turning back to Rufus. "Why, President Rufus? Don't tell me you like this girl?" she demanded.

Rufus just kept quiet and turned to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth just stared back at him with a cold look on his face.

Rufus turned back to Scarlet. "You're suspended for a month." He told her coldly before he walked to the door.

Scarlet clenched her fists. She was near hysteria already and she didn't stop herself, "KYAH! President Rufus!!! I can't believe you! What did you actually see in her?! She's a bitch! She's a slut! She's stupid and she is ugly! All she has is that body of hers, dammit!" she screeched hysterically as she went after Rufus.

Tifa twitched upon hearing those nasty remarks about her, but her attention got diverted to Sephiroth when she noticed him laughing to himself.

"Mwahahahahahahahaha,"

She raised an eyebrow at him, feeling a little ridiculous. "I think he's really insane…" she thought silently before she just decided to walk away and leave him there.

But she hid in one corner of the hallway and waited for Sephiroth to leave. When he did so, she followed him secretly from behind.

Sephiroth proceeded to the stairs, unaware that someone was following him. He was still laughing and the laughter was beginning to tick her off.

Finally, Sephiroth came to a room in a secluded area of the building where nobody ever goes… it was supposed to be the area for the guest rooms.

"This is not where his room is located," she thought silently as she watched him pull out a card key from his pocket.

Tifa watched silently as he swiped it through the small machine on the wall and the door opened. He stepped inside. Tifa heard him say out loud, "Hey, Aerith, guess what happened back there! It's so hilarious! Mwahahahahahahahaha!" And he closed the door.

Tifa's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened in disbelief. "Aerith?!"

She did not know what to do at first. "Wh…what the…" and she wanted to make sure, so she approached the door and then listened to the conversation from inside.

"You know that Scarlet, right?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yeah, why?" a somewhat timid voice replied.

Tifa gasped lightly, recognizing the voice. "It's Aerith… but what is she doing here?" she asked herself silently as she covered her mouth with her trembling hand. She felt so overjoyed and confused at the same time.

She did not listen anymore, she just left and proceeded to Rufus's office, remembering that she was supposed to meet him there because he wanted to talk to her.


	6. Sixth

Her Sweetest Revenge

=Sixth=

            Rufus was just standing by the window, looking at the whole of Midgar with jaded blue eyes. His hands were inside his trouser pockets as he thought about several things… especially what happened that afternoon.

It was already sunset and he was glad that he was able to ward off Scarlet from following him to his office, otherwise, he'd really fire her… and firing employees at that moment wherein ShinRa is still trying to rise up again more and more isn't really his cup of tea. Besides, if the Weapons Department would be boss-less, he wouldn't know who to put in it. "As long as it's not another person like Scarlet… but where do you find that?" he thought silently.

He thought of the reason why he had to suspend Scarlet. And he blushed at the thought of it. He felt himself shrinking all of a sudden, wanting to hide inside an isolated room away from everyone else. And hell, even Sephiroth witnessed it. He felt so embarrassed… he knew he had looked so vulnerable and so gullible that afternoon in front of Sephiroth and Scarlet… and in the hands of Tifa.

"Well, who could blame me? I mean, I haven't been kissed by anyone before… and Tifa's the first one. Today," he thought silently, making a face as his frown deepened. He removed his hands from his pockets and clenched his fists. "No… my first kiss was last night after our _date_. This is the second one… but this second one seems… a little overboard…" he thought silently, biting his lower lip and looking at the orangey skies quite hesitantly. He had to admit, he felt a little weird when Tifa kissed her just moments ago. He shuddered.

"Why'd she have to do that?" he thought silently.

He was interrupted when he heard some footsteps approaching him. He turned around with a serious look on his face, but the seriousness was replaced by surprise when he saw who it was. "…T….Tifa…" he said rather weakly.

She smiled sweetly at him, "Hello, Rufus," she said before she sat down on one of the chairs.

He stared at her for a long time, not knowing what to say. He had to admit, he was really attracted to her… and he couldn't help it any longer.

"Now," he thought silently to himself as a signal before speaking up, "Why did you do that?" he asked.

Tifa's smile faded away as she looked up at him. He approached her slowly. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do what?" she asked, trying to act innocent.

He stopped when he reached her. "Why did you kiss me like that?" he asked, blushing a little bit upon mentioning the word _kiss. The scene and the feeling kept on playing in his mind even as he spoke at that moment._

She fell silent, not knowing how to answer. "Because I'm supposed to seduce you and use it to blackmail Scarlet too," was the thought in her head, but of course, she wouldn't say that to Rufus. So she just replied with a sad and embarrassed look on her face (she's already acting), "Because… because… I… I like, you Rufus… No… I _don't _like you…I… I know this is a strong word but… I think I _love you…"_

Rufus's eyes widened slightly upon hearing that. He felt his heart pounding hard against his chest. "Shit! How do I…" he thought silently in confusion.

She got up from the couch and faced him. "I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… but I can't help it… there's just something about you that… that is so irresistible…" she blushed. "How come this feels like I really mean what I'm saying right now?" she thought silently as she took a step backward. "I'll… just leave now. I'm sorry. I know that it sounds so unprofessional, so I think I'll just leave…" she turned away from him.

"No," he told her.

She stopped.

"Damn it!" he scolded himself silently. He was beginning to get nervous and uncomfortable with what was going on. "I should've consulted with Sephiroth first…" he thought silently before smiling weakly at Tifa. "You can't leave." He said flatly. "Damn, I sound pathetic," he thought silently, mentally kicking himself.

She fought the urge to smile as she thought silently, "Yes! I knew I had him wrapped around my little finger even from the start! Heeehee! He can't live without me now!" and she spoke up with a hesitant tone, "And… why not?" she asked.

"Because… you're… important to this company. I know you have potential; you can't just leave! We need you here in ShinRa because you're the best Vice President and Marketing Manager it has ever had!" he told her with a stiff look on his face.

Tifa felt her heart sink. "Damn… and I thought he's in-love with me?" she thought silently.

Rufus congratulated himself silently, "Good work, Rufus."

Tifa frowned slightly. "But… I…" she does not really know what to say. She thought silently, "If I leave right now, Barret will get mad at me. I must make ShinRa fall… then in the process, I'll also do a little investigation on why Aerith is here…" She smiled weakly at Rufus. "Well… okay… if you say so…" she told him with a sheepish look on her face. "Onward to seducing this blonde guy, Teef!" she urged herself silently before running to Rufus with a cheerful smile on her face while giggling happily. She jumped onto him and embraced him tightly; causing him to fall back onto the floor with her.

He was a little hurt from the fall but he didn't really mind… the girl was embracing him.

"Oh, Rufus, thank you very much! I really love working here!" she said happily.

"But… but why did you think of leaving?!" he asked unbelievably.

"It's just acting, dumb-ass." Tifa thought silently with a fake sad smile on her face. "I just want to know how much you care about me, Rufus," she said.

He blinked and was surprised. "Wh…what?" he asked in awe, not expecting that answer.

Unknown to him, Sephiroth was just standing by the stairs, listening to them.

"I… I want to confess something to you, Rufus," she said rather seductively.

He swallowed hard. "Y…yes, what is it?" he asked nervously.

Sephiroth covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing. For him, the situation just sounded so funny. "Man, is Rufus stupid or what? Don't tell me he's giving in to this girl?! Can't he tell that she's just acting?!" he thought silently.

Tifa was about to say _the words to Rufus, but Sephiroth had to interrupt by climbing up the stairs completely, making noise with his feet._

"Hey, Rufus," he began and stopped upon seeing them, acting surprised as he gasped.

Rufus pushed Tifa off of himself and got up immediately, dusting himself. His face was really red as he stiffened his facial expression and eyed Sephiroth. "What is it?" he asked casually with a professional tone.

Tifa blushed, got up immediately and dusted herself before placing her hands behind her back.

Sephiroth smiled slyly at her before turning back to Rufus, "What are you two doing on the floor?" he asked with a teasing tone.

"Checking on dust mites." Tifa was thinking, but before she could reply to Sephiroth, Rufus spoke up, "And what are you doing here?"

Sephiroth just shrugged, knowing that Rufus meant to change the subject because it was really too embarrassing and confusing for him. "I came up here to ask you if you would like to attend Mayor Domino's birthday party in Sector 2?" he asked.

"Birthday party?" Rufus asked.

"Why in Sector 2?" Tifa asked with a curious look on her face, acting like nothing happened.

"Because he wanted everyone to come. There's a newly-built multi-purpose hall in Sector 2 and it's big enough to accommodate more than half of the population of Midgar." Sephiroth explained before turning back to Rufus, "So, are you coming or not?" he asked.

Rufus thought for a while. "It's not in my schedule…" he began, but Sephiroth widened his eyes on him like he was signaling him or something. He just turned to Tifa. "Shall you accompany me to the party?" he asked with a calm smile on his face.

Tifa blinked curiously and smiled sweetly. "Oh, I'd love to!" she said cheerfully.

"Good." Sephiroth thought silently.

"Well then, better prepare… I'll meet you in the lobby at 6:30." Rufus told her.

She nodded before deciding to give him a hug and a quick kiss on the lips. "Yes, Rufus," she said softly before she went off.

Rufus sighed heavily like he had held his breath for more than a minute in that moment when she hugged and kissed him before leaving. 

"Whoa… is she already your girlfriend?" Sephiroth asked.

Rufus did not really know how to answer. "I need to talk with you, Aerith and Lucrecia," he just said with a disturbed look on his face.

"Aerith is asleep. Mom's in the lab and she'll be taking care of Aerith later on after we leave for the party. We'll be taking the Turks with us." Sephiroth explained.

Rufus nodded. "You know, I can't do this alone any longer," he admitted.

"What?" Sephiroth asked.

Rufus went over to his desk and sat down on his chair. "Oh, never mind…" he muttered miserably before he got up. "I'd better get ready for the party." He said casually before walking out of the office, leaving Sephiroth there.

Sephiroth just watched him silently as he descended the stairs, and then shrugged before deciding to just leave the office too.

            Tifa examined herself in front of the mirror with a sad look on her face. For some reason, she does not feel so beautiful, even with the dress she was wearing at that moment. It was a silk black cocktail dress with a black shawl. 

She sighed heavily as she put on the heeled strappy sandals before checking the clock. "How am I going to ask Rufus about Aerith…" she thought silently.

With that, she proceeded to the lobby.

The Turks were already there and they were having a conversation about anything under the sun… until they saw Tifa. They all shut up to stare at her.

Rude's mouth dropped open; Elena's eyes widened and she smiled; while Reno whistled while looking unbelievably at Tifa. "Well… that dress looks better on her than the corporate attire." He muttered to his friends.

"Oh my goodness! Miss Lockheart! You look so beautiful!" Elena cheered happily as she ran to Tifa, taking her hand and then jumping up and down excitedly.

"You too, Elena," Tifa said, admiring Elena's blue tube dress. She then turned to Rude who was wearing his usual Turk uniform, and then to Reno was dressed in a black long-sleeved polo shirt and black slacks. His hair still looked messy, as usual.

She turned back to Elena, trying to act naturally. "So, where'd you buy that lovely dress?" she asked.

"It's just something I had but this is the first time I wore it." Elena explained. "And yours?" she asked.

"I… just had it stocked in my clothes somewhere at home and took it with me here just in case there's a party or something." Tifa explained sheepishly, though the truth is, she just had Yuffie sneak it inside ShinRa some minutes ago.

They were interrupted when they saw Sephiroth walking to them. He was wearing a black suit and he looked very elegant with it. Rufus was following from behind him, wearing a white suit.

"Is the limousine ready?" Sephiroth asked Reno.

"Yes, sir!" Reno replied.

"Well then, let's go." Sephiroth commanded as he led the way outside.

Tifa waited for Rufus to approach her after the Turks had gone outside with Sephiroth.

He smiled at her. "Lovely," he remarked.

She smiled sweetly. "Thank you. You look… wonderful." She complimented.

His smile slowly faded away as he led the way to the door. Tifa felt a little bad because she had expected him to escort her outside and he didn't. He even left her behind!

She clenched her fists before bowing down her head in disappointment and her face turned solemn. "Oh well… can't expect him to really fall in-love with me… he's simply so stiff…" she thought silently before following after him. She was the last one who boarded the limousine and once she got inside, she realized that she had to sit beside Sephiroth.

"Damn! Of all?!" she thought miserably.

Rufus was sitting in between Reno and Rude, as if the two were protecting him.

Tifa had to sit in between Sephiroth and Elena, like those two are her bodyguards.

During the trip, Sephiroth kept on talking to Rufus about various things that does not even interest the others…

Rufus would respond once in a while with a snide comment or a yes or a no.

When they reached the venue for the party, Tifa already looked so bored that she could just drop down dead because of it. Everyone got down from the limo ahead of her, and she wondered if anyone of them would help her out, but no one did.

"Shit… I should be acting like a total flirt to Rufus, but how come I'm suddenly afraid of him?" she thought silently.

And just when she thought that Rufus was going inside already with the Turks and Sephiroth, she was surprised when he told his bodyguards to wait.

Rufus turned back to Tifa and offered his hand to her, "Shall we?" he asked.

She smiled happily, her troubles fading away. "Yes, Rufus," she said softly before placing her hand on his. He clutched her hand gently and they walked hand-in-hand together going inside.

"Gee… don't mind me asking, Sir Sephiroth, but… is there anything going on between the two of them?" Reno whispered.

"Stop being a tattletale and just walk." Sephiroth muttered with a sly smile on his face.

Reno stiffened and just proceeded to walk.

Elena and Reno walked behind the couple, while Sephiroth went ahead to clear the way in front of the President and his Vice President.

The music stopped playing when the emcee announced their arrival. All eyes turned to them and they were welcomed with applause and music. The music was the one played during Rufus's welcoming ceremony in Junon some years ago.

"Oh no… it's that damn music again…" Rufus muttered under his breath while he still kept a proud smile plastered onto his face as he waved to the crowd.

Tifa bit her lower lip to control herself from laughing. She did not expect that Rufus would really hate that music. "So, is it just like your presidential march or something?" she murmured.

"I hope not…" Rufus told her.

As Tifa was also looking around, her smile faded away and her eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Cloud, Barret, Vincent, Yuffie and Marlene standing in one corner of the big hall.

Yuffie and Marlene excitedly waved at her, while Barret just slightly raised his hand as a greeting. Cloud raised his wine goblet as a sign of greeting, while Vincent just smiled slightly at her.

Tifa smiled slightly, hoping that Sephiroth wasn't looking, and then turned away from them, looking up at Rufus. She could tell that he was already annoyed but he still kept on smiling and waving at everyone who greeted him. "This must be the damn part in politics…" she thought silently.

Finally, they reached the VIP table where they were supposed to sit down with the Mayor.

Mayor Domino got up and shook hands with them proudly before announcing to everyone in the whole place, "Everyone! Let us welcome our dear President Rufus ShinRa and his very lovely Vice President Tiffayne Lockheart!"

Everyone applauded and cheered.

"Thank you very much for coming here, President Rufus. I'm really obliged to have you join me here in this wonderful party with the people of Midgar," Mayor Domino told Rufus.

"It's my pleasure to be here. Happy birthday." Rufus said with a slight smile on his face.

During the whole dinner, almost everyone was talking about the two of them: Tifa and Rufus.

Rufus knew, because he could catch several glances from envious women. Tifa couldn't even notice because she was too busy talking to Reeve, Elena and Reno.

Then something just caught his attention… on the table just some three tables away from the VIP table: the people seated there. His eyes narrowed carefully at the blonde man with spiky hair and blue mako eyes, who was talking to Vincent Valentine.

Rufus turned to the person seated beside him to his right. "They're here," he muttered.

Sephiroth nodded. "I know…" he responded, keeping his eye on Cloud and his gang.

Rufus turned to Tifa, "You know those people?" he asked, referring to Cloud and his gang.

Tifa felt herself getting nervous. "Uhm… no," she lied. "Why?" she asked.

"Well… they were once known as AVALANCHE. They were once a rebel group against my company. I do hope they're not into one of their schemes again just like before." He told her.

She smiled weakly. "I don't think so, Rufus." She told him, hoping that he wouldn't notice anything unusual about her whenever the topic regarding AVALANCHE is brought up. She just watched quietly as many of the people got up from their seats and started to dance to the waltz being played by the live band.

"Why don't you dance for a while, Tifa?" Rufus told her.

"I… I don't have a partner…" she hinted with a weak smile on her face.

Rufus turned to Rude, "Hey Rude, will you dance with Tifa? She looks bored already." He said.

"Wh…what?" Rude asked, suddenly blushing. "Did you just call her _Tifa_?" Reno asked in disbelief.

"Shit… now they might start suspecting something! They'll know that _Tiffayne_ isn't really my real name but just a made-up name and that _Tifa is not just my nickname but also my real name!" she thought silently._

"Yeah. That's her nickname." Rufus replied before turning back to Sephiroth and began to converse with him as if caring about nothing else but the profit that his company would gain for the next six months.

Tifa frowned slightly before getting up and pushed Rude aside. "Out of the way," she muttered before she headed for the dance floor.

Rufus also turned to Reeve, telling him to dance with Scarlet; and then telling Reno to dance with Elena too. He needed to get everyone out of the table so that no one else would listen to his conversation with Sephiroth.

"Kyah! What's wrong with him?! He's asking everyone else to dance but he doesn't want to!" Scarlet muttered miserably.

Cloud watched quietly as Tifa walked over to the punch bowl and started to drink. It was obvious that she left Rude someplace else because she doesn't really want to dance with him.

"What is she doing?" he whispered to Barret.

"Dunno… maybe she's trying to get herself drunk. She looks frustrated," Barret explaied.

Vincent watched the couples dancing in the dance floor, secretly admiring them and wishing that he also had someone to dance with.

Rufus was watching them from the corner of his eye before Sephiroth finally said, "Now."

Rufus turned back to him with a serious look on his face. He nodded before taking a quick glance at his watch. It had been already an hour after he had sent off his executives and his Turks to dance.

With that, he got up and went over to Mayor Domino with an arrogant smile on his face. He knew that Cloud and the others were watching him.

Mayor Domino stopped conversing with some invited guests to look up at Rufus, "Yes, President Rufus?" he asked.

Rufus's smile widened before he began to explain something.

Sephiroth turned away from them and got up from his seat, proceeding to the buffet table to get some canapés for himself since he still felt so hungry.

Tifa finished her fifth drink but she still felt like drinking more; however, before she could get more punch, she stopped herself when the Mayor started clearing his voice on the microphone. "Ahem, ahem, ahem… may I have your attention please?" the mayor said.

Tifa turned to the Mayor with a curious look on her face. The music stopped playing and everyone stopped dancing.

When Mayor Domino knew that he had caught everyone's attention, he smiled warmly at everyone and spoke up again, "The President wishes to speak… this is something important. And since this is not just a special night for me, I would like to also make this night special for him. So… here now is his Excellency, President Rufus." He stepped aside to give the floor to Rufus. Everyone applauded and cheered for Rufus.

He had this arrogant smile on his face as he raised his hands to them so that they would stop. 

They did.

With that, he spoke up, "I don't know if you have noticed… that this is such a cool evening. The stars are all out… the moon is full… the atmosphere isn't humid. And all the beautiful people are here," he began.

Everyone felt flattered by what he said.

With that, he proceeded, "I was watching people dancing a while ago and I could not help but notice the lovers too. The look in their eyes… the way they look at each other. I could say that this is also a very romantic evening."

And blah blah blah.

"What's wrong with him? Is that another one of his speeches?" Scarlet asked Reeve.

"I dunno. It sounds… unlikely of him," Reeve stated flatly.

Tifa took a seat casually beside Vincent, who was attentively listening to Rufus. "He doesn't sound like himself. What did you do to him?" he asked her in a whispery tone.

"The old plan, remember? Seduce and then make him fall in-love and then leave him to die." Tifa told him.

Vincent felt his heart somewhat sinking. "I… I don't know about you, Tifa, but I'm sure you do know the feeling of rejection, right?" he asked her.

"Yes, but…" she trailed off when Vincent turned to look at her. "How would you feel if you also fell in-love with him and he leaves you?" he asked her with a solemn look on his face.

She stiffened and just turned her attention back to Rufus. "Between you and me, Vincent, I think I'm ready to quit this job any time soon." She muttered under her breath.

He stared at her. "And why?" he asked.

She just sighed heavily as she bowed down her head, but before she could reply, her attention was caught by Rufus's statement, "and for this very wonderful evening, I would like to dedicate everything to very beautiful Vice President… who also happens to be my girlfriend," 

Her eyes widened.

Barret, Yuffie, Cloud and Vincent stared unbelievably at Tifa.

All eyes turned to Tifa; almost all the single ladies felt so envious.

Tifa could feel the room spinning around her.

Rufus stared back at her with a sly smile on his face, "I would like to announce my engagement to Miss Tifa Lockheart." He finally said.

Tifa gasped as she covered her mouth in awe.

"Oh my gawd!!! She really did it! Tifa's able to win his heart!" Yuffie said in disbelief.

"Tha' darn foo'! What did Tifa do?! Can't believe she was able to really do it all by herself… and in less than a year! I thought it would take forever!" Barret said in awe, talking while the whole room went in frenzy, applauding happily.

Sephiroth watched quietly with a sly smile on his face as he watched Rufus summon Tifa up the stage.

She slowly got up with a nervous smile on her face before she went to Rufus, joining him up on the stage. He turned to face her and brought out a silver ring with a heart-shaped diamond on it. "For you, Tifa. Do you accept?" he asked softly away from the microphone.

She looked at the engagement ring hesitantly before turning her gaze secretly to Barret and the others. Barret and Cloud urged her to take it.

She turned back to Rufus, smiling sweetly at him. "Yes."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

to be continued….. please review…


	7. Seventh

_**Her Sweetest Revenge**_

Author's Note: Pretend Advent Children didn't happen for this fic. smiles uneasily This fic has been on hibernation for a long time already and I've decided to wake it up. And don't complain about OOC's. It's for a purpose. They're just _acting_.

* * *

**Seventh**

She woke up at around 10:00 in the morning with puffy eyes; obvious that she cried herself to sleep. She knew that she was already late and she had missed a meeting that was supposed to be scheduled at 7:30, but she did not care at that moment.

She took a quick shower, got dressed in her corporate attire and got her mobile phone. She stood by the window of her bedroom and started to call her friends' place.

"Hello?" someone answered from the other end of the line.

"Cloud?" she asked.

"Tifa?" he responded.

She sighed heavily. "I… it's… hard to explain…" she stammered nervously. Tears were welling in her eyes again and they began to fall uncontrollably. She couldn't take it anymore.

She sniffed as she wiped them away with the back of her free hand.

"Are you crying?" he asked with a stiff tone.

"No I'm not… I just got the sniffles… anyway… I… I think I'd like to… to quit with this job." She muttered.

Silence.

"Why?" Cloud asked.

"It's just unfair for Rufus… and for me too." She responded. "And for Aerith…" she thought silently.

Cloud was silent for a few seconds before replying, "Tell that to Barret." And hung up.

Tifa frowned slightly as she dropped her phone on the table by the window before covering her face. "Oh my God… Cloud, I'm so sorry…" she thought silently.

_"I think with this situation, I can never see Cloud for a long while…"_

Those words from Aerith made her feel so guilty. "Because of me, Cloud will be sadder and Aerith will be more miserable… and to think that she's here again because she wants to be with him… and I'm hindering it… just like before… I'm such a bitch…" she thought miserably as she removed her hands from her face and wiped her tears away. She was interrupted when someone just knocked on her door.

"Tifa, are you there?"

Lucrecia.

Tifa bit her lower lip. "And because of me agreeing to do this, Vincent can't be with her for a while…" she thought silently before faking a smile and calling out, "Yeah, why?"

Lucrecia entered and she looked worried.

Tifa's smile faded away upon seeing the worried look on Lucrecia's face. "Anything wrong?" she asked.

"You weren't in the meeting this morning, we were wondering what happened to you," Lucrecia began as she approached Tifa.

"I… I just overslept. I don't feel so good." Tifa explained with a slight smile on her face.

Lucrecia placed her hands on Tifa's forehead, feeling her temperature. "You seem fine." She put down her hand and smiled sweetly at her, "Congratulations on your engagement to Rufus. He's really happy to announce it again today during the meeting. Looks like he's so proud of having you as his fiancée. We've never seen him look so happy and know that he's feeling so good about himself. He used to be so dull and serious, now he seems… livelier!" she got Tifa's hands and squeezed them gently. "We here at ShinRa are really happy to have you here… and I'm so thankful that you came along into our lives. You're so sweet and so understanding. You've influenced Rufus to be like that and we're so glad that you did. Maybe if it was another girl, we'd still be down in the dumps with the same old bad image and reputation." She explained with a pleased look on her face.

Tifa bit her lower lip and sniffed softly, trying to control her tears, but Lucrecia noticed her eyes glistening with them. "Oh, what's the matter?" Lucrecia asked with a concerned look on her face.

Tifa burst into tears and embraced her friend. "Oh, Lucrecia… it's nothing. Just tears of joy…" she cried helplessly.

Lucrecia raised her eyebrows and just smiled blankly as she returned Tifa's embrace.

Tifa felt so stupid. "These are not tears of joy… these are tears of guilt, dammit!" she thought silently.

And up to now, she is still acting.

Shame on her.

"Oh, by the way, there's going to be a parade this afternoon. It's a welcoming ceremony in Junon. We have to leave at exactly 12:00 noon so that we'll arrive there before 13:00. Alright?" Lucrecia asked, letting go of Tifa.

"We…welcoming ceremony? What for?" Tifa asked nervously.

"To re-welcome the president. It's like he's new and improved… everyone likes the way he runs the government and ShinRa." Lucrecia explained.

Tifa was stunned. "Oh. That's… good to hear," she smiled as she felt a little relieved. "Well, I think I'd better go and greet him a good morning and apologize for not being able to attend the meeting." She said before heading outside, leaving Lucrecia inside with a perplexed look on her face.

x-O-x-O-x

Rufus kept on clenching and then relaxing his left fist, and then bending and flexing his left arm; as if exercising his injured arm. The pain would lessen once in a while, thanks to the new ointment that Lucrecia had formulated for him.

"Disgusting…" he thought miserably, feeling grossed-out with himself as he removed his white jackets, and then removed his black turtleneck, draping everything on his office chair. Half-naked, he began to remove the bandages from his left arm with a deep frown on his face.

He did not even notice Tifa enter his office.

She watched quietly in curiosity and awe as the scarred left arm was revealed to her sight.

Rufus made a face like he was so disgusted with himself. "Damn…" he muttered frustratingly.

She bit her lower lip, remembering the explosion that occurred two years ago… quick flashes returned to her mind but she shook her head to rid herself of those horrible memories.

"Rufus," she began softly with a concerned tone as she ran to him.

Rufus jerked slightly upon hearing her voice and then turned to face her. His eyes were wide for a few seconds before narrowing them at her. "Oh… hello, Tifa," he greeted stiffly before turning back to his arm and began to wrap the bandages around it again.

She stopped him and held his left hand gently, careful not to hurt it as she examined it slowly.

"Don't stare at it… it's disgusting." He told her with a stiff tone, though his eyes revealed that he felt so ashamed and hurt.

She looked up at him and smiled sweetly. "I don't mind, Rufus. It's just a scar… besides, I think it will disappear." Her smile faded.

"Anything wrong?" he asked.

"…I have a scar too…" she admitted.

"H…how?" he asked.

"Sephiroth. He… slashed me from this part," she placed her hand below her left chest and traced down in a slant direction to her right waist. "down to here… with his Masamune. I was only 15 back then." She explained with a sad look on her face.

He could hardly believe what she was saying. "Really now?" he asked.

She nodded. "But please, don't get mad at Sephiroth… I understand that he was out of his mind when he did that, so right now, I'm not really blaming him." She explained with a nervous look on her face.

"I see… so you're still afraid of Sephiroth huh? You don't want me to scold him so that he wouldn't get back at you?" he asked with a sly smile on his face.

She was quiet for a while before laughing sarcastically. "Yeah, yeah, right… Fear. You control the world with fear." She pointed out.

He chuckled lightly before turning serious again, "Can I see it?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

"Your scar." He pointed out.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe the ointment that Lucrecia had given to me can help you too. I think it's effective in my part." He pointed out, showing her the ointment.

"I don't think so." She said, blushing.

"Ahem…"

The two were interrupted, turning to the direction where they heard the sound.

Rufus's eyes widened. "Wh…what are you doing here?" he asked.

It was Aerith… but she was wearing a white floral sundress and her hair was not braided.

She smiled sweetly at them. "Hello Rufus! Is that the way you greet an old friend who's been bedridden for days?" she asked as she approached.

Tifa was looking at the girl strangely. "She resembles so much of Aerith… what if…" she thought silently before turning to Rufus, examining the annoyed look on his face. "Nah… it can't be Aerith. Rufus wouldn't be annoyed at Aerith." She thought.

"What is she doing here?" Rufus thought silently before faking a smile at Aerith. "I'm sorry. I was just surprised…" he trailed off when Aerith went to Tifa and held her hands happily, "It is simply nice to see you again." She whispered softly in a voice edible enough for only Tifa to hear. She was smiling sweetly at her.

Rufus was surprised at Aerith revealing to Tifa that she's alive. Feeling uneasy, he began to wrap his arm again with bandages.

Tifa smiled uneasily at the girl. "…you are?" she asked, wanting to be sure.

From the stairway, Rufus could see Sephiroth smiling maliciously at him. Rufus made a face at him, as if saying, "Is this one of your ideas!"

Sephiroth just grinned and went down again, leaving Aerith, Rufus and Tifa there.

Aerith was examining the look on Tifa's face. "What's the matter? It looks like you've seen a ghost in me or something," she pointed out.

Tifa blinked and turned away, feeling sheepish that she had been staring at her for too long just because she had a lot of thoughts in her head regarding Aerith. "N…nothing, really. I was just… surprised," she turned back to her. "I thought you were someone I knew at first glance…" she explained sheepishly.

"Really? Who is she?" Aerith asked sweetly.

Tifa had this sad look on her face, "I… I'd rather not talk about it." She said.

Rufus was already fixing himself up while listening to the conversation of the two girls. When he was all ready, he turned to face them, "Well, if you two are done with your chitchat, we'll head for Junon right now." He told them.

"You mean you're taking me with you?" Aerith asked while batting her eyelashes sweetly at Rufus.

Rufus retained a poker-face as he stared at her.

Tifa blinked. "Rufus, who is she?" she asked curiously with a slight frown on her face. She could feel her heart beating fast and her throat was beginning to feel dry.

"…like Aerith?" Aerith asked softly. Rufus did not move. He just stared back at Tifa with a blank look in his eyes before turning to Aerith. "She… is Aerith. Aerith, this is… Tifa, my fiancée." He replied.

Tifa's eyes widened as she stared unbelievably at Aerith. Aerith smiled at her. "In the flesh." She told her. The next thing they knew, Tifa fainted.

Rufus stared down at Tifa on the floor with a cold look on his face, "Look what you've done, Gainsborough." He muttered miserably before clapping his hands twice, "Sephiroth!" he called out, knowing that Sephiroth is still around and eavesdropping. In five seconds, Sephiroth was climbing up the stairs again going to the elevated part of the 70th floor. "You got me." He announced.

Aerith went over to Tifa and knelt down beside her. "I guess her mind's clouded and she ended up getting confused… so she fainted." She explained. "Oh, she's always confused." Rufus muttered before telling her, "Aerith, what are you doing? You're up and about!"

She giggled. "Oh I'm well enough to walk but I can't strain myself too much. Besides, Sephiroth talked me into this." She told him.

"Are you sure she's unconscious?" Sephiroth asked her, staring curiously at Tifa. Aerith looked down at Tifa again, parting her left eyelids open and then letting it go. "Yeah. She is." She replied plainly. "Better hurry though before she regains consciousness." She advised.

"What is the meaning of this?" Rufus asked.

"You wouldn't want Tifa to win this game, right?" Sephiroth asked him with a stern look on his face.

Rufus stared unbelievably at him, "Sephiroth, we've talked about this before! I've got the situation under control! I won't let her _fool_ me with her silly little AVALANCHE games." He told them.

"So that's why you decided to betroth yourself to her?" Aerith asked while shrugging.

Rufus shook his head. "This is the plan: we have known from the start that they're up to something against us. They don't know that our company is doing all it could to improve the lives of people that's why they sent Tifa over here to spy on our activities and—quote-unquote—seduce me and she thinks she has succeeded already. At least she thinks I _am_ interested in her…" he began.

"Are you?" Aerith cut him off.

Rufus's eyes widened at her, "Bloody hell, no! Anyway, the goal is to make her think that I am interested in her so that she will lie low and will think that victory is near…"

"You two are just playing a never-ending game!" she said in disbelief.

"So this is the _new plan_." Sephiroth interrupted. Rufus turned to him before turning to Aerith, "You're on this, aren't you?" he asked with a slight smile on his face. She smiled sweetly at him. "I can't let my fellow AVALANCHE harm my ShinRa friend." She said sweetly. Rufus didn't know if she was being sarcastic or not but he just turned back to Sephiroth to hear his explanation. Sephiroth smiled and walked over to Tifa, kneeling down beside her and making sure she's still unconscious. "Aerith is going to act as a third party in your relationship with Ms. Lockheart." He began. Rufus's eyes widened upon hearing that. "What?" he demanded in disbelief. "Oh you know… she'll play a little bit too nice to you… it's just like she's flirting but she's not. And then Tifa's going to see it and she'll get jealous." Sephiroth continued.

"Why would she even get jealous? Tifa doesn't even like me in reality; she's just acting just like me acting like I like her!" Rufus told him.

"She's got to keep your attention to her and only to her otherwise her plan will be a flop!" Sephiroth told him before he got up. "And what happens now? What if word gets to Cloud Strife about his girlfriend flirting with the President? Wouldn't that tick him off?" Rufus asked, aware of Cloud and Aerith's relationship.

Sephiroth shrugged and smiled slyly at him, "Wouldn't _that tick him off_?" he asked.

They were silent for a few moments before they heard Tifa groan. "Oh…" They were surprised. Sephiroth just did the thumbs-up to Rufus and got down from the office, leaving Rufus and Aerith to deal with Tifa. Aerith was giving him the "are you ready" look. He just frowned and thought, "Let's just get it over with…" before following after Sephiroth.

"Oh are you alright?" Aerith asked Tifa as she offered to help her up. Tifa opened her eyes and stared back at Aerith in disbelief. "…How did you manage to…" she began.

"Oh. It's a long story. But I took Sephiroth and Rufus with me… along with Lucrecia." Aerith replied sweetly as she helped her friend up. "But I still can't go out and tell Cloud because I'm not yet well enough." She added.

Tifa looked around the room. "Where's… where's Rufus?" she asked. Aerith blinked, surprised at Tifa being concerned more about Rufus than her. "He… is on his way to the chopper now. He's going to Junon. If you wanna come with him you should hurry." She told her.

Tifa was stunned. "He… he is?" she asked. "But… he left me here?" she asked in confusion.

Aerith shrugged, acting innocent. "He's in a hurry."

Tifa was silent for a while, recalling the events. "Wait a second, how were you able to recognize me? I'm supposed to be in a disguise—like having another identity?" she asked.

"_Tiffayne_Lockheart, right? Of course I know! I was once a part of AVALANCHE too. I know the group's style! Teehee!" Aerith giggled. "Don't worry, it's just between me and you. Rufus and Sephiroth _will never know_." She said. But she was mentally kicking herself, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you, I promise!" she was thinking silently to herself.

Tifa just swallowed hard. "Well… alright… so you're with me in this mission?" she asked.

"What's the plan anyway?" Aerith asked. Tifa took a deep breath before starting, "I'm supposed to seduce Rufus, make him fall in-love with me and then leave him…. While in the process, sabotaging ShinRa so that once I get out of here, he'll be just… picking up the pieces and sticking them back together with glue." She replied rather uneasily.

Aerith tilted her head to the side while staring into Tifa's eyes. "You don't… sound happy about it…" she said softly.

Tifa shook her head. "I am not! I want to quit! I want to… just go back to Sector 7, grab my stuff and run away and change my name and identity so that no one can find me… I can't do this anymore!" she told her before covering her face with her hands and marching towards the window. She heard the chopper leave and when she looked up at the skies, she saw it pass by the window. Rufus and Sephiroth were in it already and she was hoping that the former would look at her but he didn't. He was busily discussing something with Sephiroth.

"He… just left…" she said in disbelief.

"Why? Were you supposed to go with him?" Aerith asked innocently. Tifa just stood still as she felt her knees get weak. "…at least that's what I thought. Or maybe I'm letting everything get into my head…" she said softly before turning to face Aerith again with a sad smile on her face. "I know the feeling of… getting hurt. Rufus loves me now, and I guess while making him fall in-love with me, I…" she trailed off, not sure if she should tell Aerith about her true feelings. She just swallowed hard and shook her head, "…And I don't want to hurt him once I leave him." She proceeded.

Aerith just kept quiet but she was surprised at Tifa's revelation. "Well then… just… quit the plan!" she suggested.

"I can't do that! Barret and the rest will get mad at me!" Tifa protested.

"Well then… just… break it to them gently…" Aerith said flatly. "Like how? It's not easy. In maybe… around… a month, I'll get married to Rufus… and then they'll expect me to do something drastic in a matter of weeks after the wedding… the worse that I can do is to shoot him even though I can't wield a gun!" Tifa stated flatly. Aerith was surprised. "Shoot him!" she gasped.

"I've been securing a gun under my skirts ever since I started working here. They said that I might need it if I just get the urge to shoot him…" Tifa said with a disturbed look on her face before sitting down on Rufus's chair, sighing heavily.

Aerith just bowed down her head, trying to think of something else to say to her old friend. "Tifa, what exactly do you feel right now?" she asked.

Tifa was quiet for a while before realizing that Rufus's PC has been left open and the file with all the monthly expenses was open. She recalled that before, when given the opportunity, she would instantly change some digits, but at that moment, she didn't move. She just stared at it. "Guilt." She replied with a voice that seemed to falter.

x-O-x-O-x

"I can't believe you left her there." Sephiroth told him.

"As if I really care about her." Rufus muttered, crossing his arms as he looked outside the window, staring at the clouds. "Can you book the wedding at the cathedral in Junon?" he asked.

"When?" Sephiroth asked.

"During the ceremony, you go there. I can manage on my own. The Turks are with me anyway." Rufus told him. Sephiroth just nodded. "And when will the wedding take place?" he asked. "Next year. January 15. And book us a suite in Costa del Sol too. Make sure it's a 5-star hotel." Rufus instructed.

Sephiroth began to encode the details in the _reminders_ of his mobile phone. "It's so fast, Rufus. Is there really a need to rush things?" he asked.

"It's only July." Rufus pointed out.

"She's expecting perhaps that you'll be wed next month." Sephiroth pointed out.

"Well no. I'm giving her time to _change her mind_, if you know what I mean." Rufus explained with a dull look on his face. Sephiroth stared at his facial expression, "You're getting smile lines from all the acting you're doing around Tifa." He told him. Rufus just laughed dully. "Yes, yes, I know. But it rejuvenates my soul… sometimes I don't feel like acting anymore." He said.

"What do you mean? You actually like that girl already?" Sephiroth asked in disbelief. "Well… she's pretty and… voluptuous; not exactly my type but... I can't blame you if you…" he continued, not wanting to offend Rufus. Rufus just shrugged. "I don't know." Sephiroth just laughed, making him frown. "Well… alright… whatever you say." Sephiroth told him with a silly smile on his face.

Rufus just kept quiet, lowering his gaze as he inhaled as he thought, "…_she should_ change her mind. I have deceived enough minds already… If she doesn't change her mind, I'll be forced to… become a bastard like Old Man…" but he looked at Sephiroth with an inquiring stare. His friend frowned at him, "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" Rufus asked.

Sephiroth stared glumly at him, "Aw c'mon! Don't tell me you're feeling guilty about _acting_?" he asked.

Rufus just kept quiet as Sephiroth went on: "It's just fair. What do you want her to do, toss you around and let her play with you until you realize how bad it is to get hurt by someone you love?"

"It's funny hearing those words from someone like you, Sephiroth." Rufus pointed out, wanting to change the subject. He wasn't really into talking about his real feelings.

"Hey, you're not the only one who has undergone the Aerith Gainsborough Reform sessions. Mwahaha." Sephiroth kidded. Rufus just shook his head in disbelief but he did not say anything further to prolong the discussion.

x-O-x-O-x

Tifa finally gave up dialing Cloud's number. "He's not answering." She muttered miserably.

"Did you try the landline?" Aerith asked.

"It's busy. Yuffie's probably using it." Tifa replied as she leaned back on Rufus's seat. "Oh well, I guess there's nothing left for me to do but to continue with what Cloud and the others are expecting me to do so that it'll make them happy…" she decided.

Aerith was quiet for a few moments, looking pitifully at Tifa, and then let out a hopeless sigh, "Suit yourself. I'll just be here." She said softly. Tifa stared at the computer monitor while mindlessly encoding a text message: "ShinRa isn't that bad anymore. It changed." And then sent it to Cloud. With that, she got up and decided to shut down Rufus's PC before telling Aerith that she would be in her own office. Aerith just nodded; and as she watched Tifa go down the stairs, she thought, "Looks like I'm not going to be acting like I _love_ Rufus anymore." And smiled solemnly.

* * *

to be continued...


End file.
